Armstrong Reflects on 2024 Trade Deadline, ‘Allowing this Young Team to Grow’

Another trade deadline has come and gone, and the Arizona Coyotes have bolstered their draft stockpile even further.

With a plethora of future picks, a prospect pipeline bursting with talent, and a strong core of established NHL players, the future is as promising as ever.

General Manager Bill Armstrong and his staff made three deals prior to Friday’s 3 pm EST deadline, trading defenseman Troy Stecher and a 2024 seventh-round pick to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for a 2027 fourth-round draft pick; defenseman Matt Dumba and a 2025 seventh-round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a 2027 fifth-round selection, and forward Jason Zucker to the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 2024 sixth-round selection.

The deals mirrored years past in that Armstrong acquired assets – or improved positioning on existing ones – by trading players with expiring contracts to teams in the playoff hunt. The Coyotes only had the flexibility to do so because there were no long-term deals signed this past offseason, and that was no accident.

“The great thing that we did in the summer was not get locked into long term deals, allowing this young team to grow, breathe, and expand, and when they do you’ve got room to put them in the right positions,” Armstrong said. “You see the Dylan Guenthers of the world, and the Michael Kesselrings, this allows them to play, and we’re not locked in, and we’re not giving their jobs away.”

The trade deadline can always be a tough time of year for a rebuilding team, especially considering the rumors that precede the final day of deals. Zucker’s departure not only has an impact on the team overall, but also can have a ripple effect on individual players.

Logan Cooley continues to navigate through his first NHL season, and has been close with the veteran Zucker since training camp kicked off in Melbourne, Australia in September 2023. The Coyotes rookie experienced his first trade deadline – especially considering there are no trades in the NCAA, where he played last season – and said it’s tough to see such good friends and teammates depart, even if it’s part of the business.

“He’s definitely going to be one of my best friends for life here, so it was nice to have the chance to be on his team, and I wish him all the best,” Cooley said. “It’s tough to see three guys who are unbelievable guys and great players (leave). It’s always tough to see a guy go.”

Coyotes coach André Tourigny said both his staff and the organization collectively tries to be as transparent as possible with the team, especially with the uncertainty in the weeks leading up to the deadline.

Speculation and rumors can prove to be a major distraction, and once the date passes, it can often take teams some time to adjust. Arizona, however, responded with a resounding 4-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Friday night, shutting out a team desperate for points as they aim for the playoffs.

It was a far cry from the 6-1 loss the Coyotes suffered to the Carolina Hurricanes following the 2023 deadline, and Tourigny said that showed growth and maturity from a year ago.

“At the end of the day, distractions are a part of our business,” Tourigny said. “When we talk about the process, that is part of the process. Our guys have to learn to live with that and still play good hockey. They’re professionals, they need to play the game the right way.

“It’s not easy.”

Forward Michael Carcone said the impact on the personal side of things can be just as challenging as the impact on the professional side of things.

Having a family makes the uncertainty that much more difficult, too.

“Being a dad, it does affect you, and your situation at home, and your entire world,” Carcone said. “It’s definitely hard, people don’t see that part of it. They just see the hockey player.

“When you think about that, you start to realize that, it’s pretty tough.”

Of course, with that adversity comes opportunity, especially for some of the team’s prospects that will likely see an increased role in the final stretch of the regular season. Dylan Guenther earned a call-up after leading the Tucson Roadrunners in scoring earlier this season, and has made the most of his opportunity while starting to build strong chemistry with Cooley.

Other prospects will potentially receive a similar opportunity, and though Armstrong was mum on any specific players, defenseman Victor Söderström was called up on an emergency basis on Friday which marks his second appearance with the Coyotes this season, and 52nd since being drafted 11th overall in the 2019 draft.

He’s been a big part of the Roadrunners’ success as the team closes in on a playoff spot, and he likely won’t be alone in getting an opportunity to play in the NHL this season before helping Tucson pursue its Calder Cup goals.

“They’ve done an amazing job at developing our players down there,” Armstrong said. “They’re exciting, and we’d like to reward some of those guys during the course of our final remaining games to come up at some point and play some games.”

That, of course, will compliment the strong core of players that includes four-time All-Star Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, Lawson Crouse, Matias Maccelli, J.J. Moser, Sean Durzi, Karel Vejmelka, and Connor Ingram.

“We’ve never moved any of the core, and we’ve added the Durzis in and some other players now that have been here for a few years, and they’ve stayed together,” Armstrong said. “We’re looking for the team to grow and even get better.”

That team can continue to grow while management leverages its cupboard of draft assets in multiple ways. With 33 picks over the next three years – including 20 in the first three rounds – Arizona’s GM and his staff have plenty of options.

They can make the picks at the draft, they can leverage those assets to improve their positioning, or they can swap picks in future deals to help bring additional pieces to the rebuilding club.

The decisions can be made situationally, and the ability to create those options has long been part of the plan since Armstrong took over as GM.

“You can never think far enough in the future,” Armstrong said. “It gives us power.”

That power, and the future, continues to unfold as each game passes by.

“Since last year, we keep improving, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy,” Tourigny said. “We need results, we want results, but if you look at our last seven games, six of them we had the upper hand in scoring chances, so that’s a really good stretch for us.

“We were doing good stuff even if we had distractions, and it wasn’t easy.”