Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong on why the organization tore it down to the studs

Coming into the 2021-22 season, I don't think anyone was under any false impressions of what the Arizona Coyotes were going to be - a rebuilding team who was destined to settle at the bottom of the barrel, intent on pressing the reset button after several seasons of mediocrity.

The 2-13-1 Coyotes are certainly living up to what everyone expected, but with 8 picks in in first two rounds of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, the future in Arizona is destined to be a bright one.

During an interview with The Athletic, Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong really wanted to emphasize the importance of building through the draft. It's been the key to success for many teams throughout the years, including several teams who have won Stanley Cups in recent years - including Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Washington and Chicago.

"It's easy to look at the standings and say, 'The Coyotes, they suck,'" Armstrong said. "You know, there is a thought process here. We really deliberated hard as an organization about where we were going.

"We could have just re-loaded and gone at it and made the playoffs once every four years — if lucky, get by a first round, but most times get beat out. We had the conversation, 'We want to be great here. We want to take the chance to be great.' And the only way to do that is through the draft.

"You're not going to be great unless you go through the draft," Armstrong continued. "We made that decision last summer that we were going to do it through the draft and we weren't going to sit on the fence. We were going to go all the way in."

There will certainly be pain in the short term, but it's a small price to pay for long-term success. Of course, there are no guarantees when it comes to picks and prospects, so the Yotes are going to have to rely on excellent scouting and place a lot of importance on their prospect development program.

Armstrong knows that the club's turnaround won't likely be a quick one, even after the upcoming draft and the high picks that will come with it. With that in mind, he does not seem too concerned with imminent struggle, because he knows there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

«The timeline is sped up if you hit the impact player,'' Armstrong said. «If you get two impact players, the timeline speeds up a lot. If you got to do it with a thousand different cuts, like we might have to with all our picks, maybe it takes a little longer.»

The Coyotes will play host to the 8-5-0 Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night, both having won their last game.

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