The Arizona Coyotes are still looking for a new home, but provided some stability to their front office on Wednesday by offering general manager Bill Armstrong a contract extension.
The term of this new agreement has not been specified. However, this is “a multi-year extension”. The 53-year-old has been based in Arizona since the 2020-2021 season after a long recruiting career with the St. Louis Blues between 2004 and 2020.
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Armstrong was given the daunting task of getting the dealership back on track after years of misery. The former defenseman turned his attention to the draft, where he notably selected young players Dylan Guenther, Conor Geekie and Logan Cooley in recent years.
“We still have a lot of work to do, but I firmly believe we are on the right track to becoming a playoff-caliber team for years to come. “We have a bright future here in Arizona,” Armstrong said in a press release.
His summer was quite a busy one as he dealt with free agents Matt Dumba, Jason Zucker and Alex Kerfoot. Forwards Matias Maccelli and Lawson Crouse also signed new contracts with the team, as did Quebec head coach André Tourigny.
“Bill has a great sense of talent and he has done a fantastic job putting together a great team on and off the ice,” said team president Xavier Gutierrez. “He worked extremely hard, stayed true to his plan and earned the trust and respect of our owners, coaches, players and fans.”
The Coyotes will play again this year at Mullett Arena, a small 5,000-seat amphitheater. The plan for an arena in Tempe failed in the summer due to popular rejection in a referendum.