It’s no secret which direction the Arizona Coyotes are heading.

General manager Bill Armstrong turned the squad into a full-fledged rebuild, trading a handful of his best players in exchange for draft picks, hiring high-paid players in exchange for future caps as well. Including conditional picks, the Coyotes have three first-round picks and five second-round picks in 2022. There is also an additional third round in 2023 and two more second-round picks in 2024, in addition to a third round. and a fourth additional. selection round that year as well.

With the way the Coyotes have more or less gutted their roster without adding any proven names in free agency or the commercial market, the most anticipated outcome is that they will fight for the next few seasons while growing young talent. .

New deputy general manager John Ferguson, who will also be the team’s branch general manager in the AHL, spoke about the change underway.

“What has happened here before has not worked,” he said Thursday. “It might be a little tough, but you are what your record says you are and there are a lot of areas that Billy touched on that will need to be dealt with on or off the ice. He’s off to a good start and I’m here to help him. We have a bright future here. I can’t give you a timeline, I will definitely leave that to others, but a level of respect needs to be earned in any business, especially this business.

Ferguson commented on what he saw Armstrong achieve in his first season on the job and the front office mission statement.

“It was evident that since Bill came on board there was a clear plan in place, a commitment on the part of the owners to do what was necessary, to build a group that can win and win in the long run,” did he declare. “It’s very intriguing to me. The advantage is enormous. It’s a big challenge. I understand it, we all understand it. But an equally superior opportunity with a huge advantage. “

In his role, Ferguson will be even more important than the everyday assistant general manager, as his position for the Tucson Roadrunners will potentially mean he will oversee some of those draft picks in his AHL roster. That’s something Ferguson experienced in Boston, where he spent the last seven seasons for the Bruins as executive director of player personnel and general manager of their AHL branch.

He spoke about his vision for an AHL team.

“In a nutshell, it’s about developing NHL players in a competitive environment and we live that day in and day out,” said Ferguson. “That being said, we’re in the pros, you play to win, you have to learn to win. These players have to learn to be part of a winning team and that will put them in (a) good [position] to go up and hopefully when they are moved they will be ready to stay.

Armstrong noted that he had spent the past 20 years in reception desks trying to hire Ferguson.

“I think after the years of watching him work and with whom he’s worked and the success he’s had in leading strong American League (hockey) teams that have produced NHL players, it ‘is a key,’ Armstrong said.

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