Coyotes GM Armstrong facing his former team for first time
Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong faces his former team for the first time,
Bill Armstrong knew this week would come, but he purposely didn’t mark Feb. 2 on his calendar.
The Arizona Coyotes general manager, just eight games and a few months into his tenure, tried to avoid thinking about the days his team will play in St. Louis. Still, he has plenty of good memories of his time there.
The Coyotes open a six-game road trip with two games against the Blues on Tuesday and Thursday.
“It’s hard, because a lot of the players you’ve known since they were 18 years old,” Armstrong said. “Such fond memories of going through that organization and being a part of it. It’s very hard, you know, and so I’ve tried not to think about it.
“That’s the truth.”
The road to Armstrong becoming an NHL general manager went through the Midwest city for 16 years. Armstrong began his time there as a scout, then in 2010 was named director of amateur scouting. In 2018, Armstrong was named assistant general manger to Doug Armstrong, who is still the Blues’ GM.
The years of contributing to, then overseeing drafts paid off when the Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019. That helped Bill Armstrong draw interest from other teams in search of a general manager, and the Coyotes were the ones to land him.
“As we’re preparing to play them, it’s a different mindset then just looking at the calendar and knowing they’re coming next,” Armstrong said. “They’re a good team, and how can we play a certain way and are we going to be healthy and you worry about all those different things coming at you. Definitely going to be a battle for us. But I do believe we match up pretty good with them in certain situations.”
The Blues (6-2-1) sit atop the Honda West Division and have won three straight. Their roster is stocked with players drafted during Armstrong’s time there, including Jordan Kyrou (the coleader in points with 10), Jaden Schwartz, David Perron, Colton Parayko, Robert Thomas and No. 1 goalie Jordan Binnington.
“My biggest thing is, it ended the way you’re supposed to end it, right? By winning a championship. The second part of it is I got to work with so many great people that kind of mentored me, brought me under their wing,” Armstrong said. “At the end, Mr. (Tom) Stillman being one of our owners, he was such a great owner, it was just an awesome experience to go through. Let alone working with Doug Armstrong, which was a bonus.”
There won’t be the freedom for Armstrong to re-visit much of the city where he spent all those years. National Hockey League COVID-19 protocols are making sure of that.
The restrictions will keep Armstrong from reconnecting with many old friends and co-workers. It’s walk into the arena, go up to his seat and watch the game.
But the memories of his work and family time there will be everywhere.
“The Midwest people are great people, that’s number one,” Armstrong said.
“There was a lot of former players that we got to become really good friends with, like Keith Tkachuk and the Al MacInnises of the world, that when you were there always made you feel like their place was your place. I think the people were the biggest thing for me, always very loyal to the Blues, great fans.”
One lasting recollection for Armstrong was the 2017 Winter Classic, played at Busch Stadium where baseball’s Cardinals call home, and in front of 46,000 fans. Armstrong enjoyed seeing so many fans wearing Blues colors inside and outside of the stadium.
When the NHL was looking at reconfiguring divisions for the shortened season, St. Louis was thought to be headed to the Central before being placed in the West. So at that point, Armstrong knew he’d face his former team.
“We’re just hockey people. It’s just business, you just go in and make sure your team’s prepared,” Armstrong said. “That’s the best thing that you can do.”
Coyotes Gameday
Coyotes at St. Louis Blues, Tuesday, 6 p.m.
TV/Radio: Fox Sports Arizona, Fox Sports 910 AM
Update: The Coyotes are soon to get a defensive reinforcement in the burly Ilya Lyubushkin, who practiced with the team for the first time this season on Monday. Lyubushkin was added to the active roster as the team prepared to leave on their six-game road trip, which starts in St. Louis. Also, captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson appears closer to being taken off injured reserve, where he’s been for two weeks. Ekman-Larsson is on the road trip and is expected to practice with the team this week. Forward Christian Fischer is day-to-day with an unspecified injury and didn’t practice the past two days. And goalie Antti Raanta could be in line for a start in net on this trip, as he’s made just one start in part due to injury.