LeBrun: New GMs fast at work in Arizona and Florida ahead of pivotal offseason

VANCOUVER, BC - MARCH 4: Oliver Ekman-Larsson #23 of the Arizona Coyotes congratulates teammate Darcy Kuemper #35 after winning their NHL game against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena March 4, 2020 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Arizona won 4-2. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)
By Pierre LeBrun
Sep 28, 2020

So much to do, so little time. Every minute counts.

Which is why it’s a good thing Bill Armstrong’s daily commute to the office is a walk from the hotel next door.

“The setup couldn’t be any better,” Armstrong told The Athletic on Friday. “I walk across the parking lot and within 15 seconds I’m in my office. No travel. I get a free breakfast coupon.”

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He leaves for work at 7 a.m. and works until midnight, save for having lunch and dinner with his wife.

Otherwise, the new GM of the Arizona Coyotes is engrossed in his job. There is a ton to do as a wild NHL offseason is almost upon us.

“I had a pretty good plan coming through the door, I think that helps me, I understood what I had to get accomplished,” the former St. Louis Blues assistant GM said of the massive work ahead of him.

Armstrong has gotten to know his Coyotes staff; they were knee deep in planning last week.

“I was impressed by the staff,” said Armstrong. “I think there’s some really good people around me that put together a heck of a presentation, from analytics to the salary cap, the whole thing, on what we need to do and how we’re going to move forward.”

As of Friday, when we spoke, he felt he was ready to start taking calls from other NHL teams.

“I feel comfortable from knowing that aspect of it now, completely inside and out, and I’m comfortable dealing with the NHL,” he said. “So today (Friday) was my day where I’m moving forward and talking to teams, now I can have legit conversations about what they’re interested in and what I can do.”

How different, I asked Armstrong, could the Coyotes roster look by Nov. 1?

“Well, there’s a little bit of an evaluation where I don’t really want to give up on some of the core that’s here,” he said. “I think as an organization that we’ve got do some evaluation. Some of those guys are young guys that are just coming into their own. Doug Armstrong used to have a famous expression, ‘Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater,’ you know what I mean? So you don’t want to get into that situation where everything is bad. It’s not. It’s not as bad as you think.”

No doubt he’s already got calls on Darcy Kuemper, who has two more years on his contract at a reasonable $4.5 million AAV. Interim GM Steve Sullivan had been getting calls on the 30-year-old netminder before Armstrong got the job. For an organization devoid of its two first-round picks the next two years, and in fact without its top three picks this year alone, dealing Kuemper would potentially be a way to recoup some high-end future asset(s).

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Make no mistake, there’s a lot of interest in Kuemper.

“Well I’ve got a lot of interest in him, too,” Armstrong said with a hearty chuckle. “You know? I like him a lot. There’s some good things about this team. We’ve got to rebuild some situations. There’s some situations that’s out of my control but at the end of the day, I’m actually responsible for in the sense that I walked into this knowing the Coyotes didn’t have (high) draft picks.

“We’ve got to find a way inside the organization to find players,” he continued. “Whether we trade players to create assets, whatever it might be, we have to find ways to find players. There is that element to it, but I know what I was getting into. There’s no excuses on that front.”

There would be no better way to recoup high-end future assets (picks and/or prospects) than dangling Oliver Ekman-Larsson. They would be looking at a handsome return for a 29-year-old stud blueliner in the apex of his career, well worth the seven years remaining on his contract at a $8.25 million AAV (although his cash payout the next few years is $10.5 million per season which may scare off a few teams).

For one, OEL has a full no-trade, no-move. All roads lead through him and his agent Kevin Epp of Titan Sports Management.

Would OEL waive, depending on the team? And is there an offer great enough for Armstrong to make that big of a blockbuster this early in his GM career?

One thing’s for sure, there is certainly OEL chatter out there.

“Well, I think other people have really pushed it out there,” said Armstrong. “But he’s our captain. He plays 23 minutes a night. I’ve heard his name splashed around everywhere but I can tell you I haven’t splashed his name around. I can tell you that. He’s a good player for this organization, I’m a big fan of his, just watching him and how he’s got better and better.

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“So, it’s a situation where I’ll have to explore why his name is out there as much as it is, because at the end of the day, he’s got a no-trade clause. If you’ve got a no-trade clause, it’s not the club that’s splashing it around, you know?”

The reality is, Armstrong can’t come out and say 100 percent he’s not trading OEL. Given where the organization is in terms of being desperate for future assets and young talent, he’s got no choice but to listen if a team really steps up with a package that would make too much sense for the Coyotes.

Ekman-Larsson may very well stay put, but if Armstrong gets that kind of package that moves the franchise forward, it could be an early defining moment for him.

I think Coyotes fans are going to like their new GM. He’s confident without being cocky and he’s got a detailed plan for how he wants to turn around the organization; it’s that plan that got him the job.

It won’t be boring. Moves are coming.

Ghost is available

Shayne Gostisbehere is available for trade, multiple sources around the league told me over the weekend. Which isn’t totally shocking, but what’s funny in a way that for all the trade rumours linked to him in the past, this is really the first time the Flyers have shown a serious willingness to move him if they get the right offer.

The 27-year-old blueliner has three more years on his deal at a $4.5 million cap hit, although the cash payout is $3.25 million per season from here on out because it was a front-loaded deal. That might be appealing to some teams.

He screams change of scenery, that’s for sure. And it appears he may get one.

Don’t sleep on Florida

Perhaps lost in the saga-filled Pittsburgh-Florida trade last week was not just the fact the Panthers were able to get out from underneath Mike Matheson’s contract but what domino effect that could have for the team’s blue line plans.

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For one, I believe the Panthers intend to be players in the Alex Pietrangelo sweepstakes if indeed he hits the market.

Which is interesting because it flies in the face of what everyone assumed (including me) when new GM Bill Zito took over in South Florida, that his marching orders would be to cut down payroll.

And I mean, I do think Zito will be careful with how he doles out the cash but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a green light to improve his team.

Getting Pietrangelo would certainly fit the criteria. It’s not like the Panthers were a lottery team this past season. They’ve got some good bones to work with. Adding one of the game’s top defencemen would be a major game-changer for that franchise. Imagine a top four that has Pietrangelo and Aaron Ekblad on the right side. Now you’re talking.

But let’s see if Pietrangelo ends up on the market. It looks that way right now, no doubt, after last weekend’s pronouncements. And by all accounts, there were no signs of progress over the past week.

Still, it’s not October yet. I spoke with a rival team executive over the weekend who felt that Blues GM Doug Armstrong would be coming back at Pietrangelo with one more swing.

What will be intriguing is the timing of that potential new offer. Does Armstrong wait until Oct. 8, creating a take-it-or-leave-it moment with the clock ticking? Or does he do it around Oct. 5 or Oct. 6 ahead of the first round of the NHL Draft so that if the offer is again rejected, it could help lay the groundwork for a sign-and-trade involving draft picks.

Again, I think Vegas has genuine interest and no question Toronto will at least inquire. There will be more teams but Florida is a dark horse.

(Glenn James / NHLI via Getty Images)

Hornqvist’s decision

I’ve said this many times over the years but players negotiate no-trade clauses for a reason and it’s their right to say no to a trade.

Which almost happened in the case of Patric Hornqvist last week. Sources confirm that his original reaction to the proposed deal to Florida was not to waive. Which is natural, he’s been in Pittsburgh a long time, he’s won the Cup twice there, uprooting your family this late in your career, especially during a pandemic, doesn’t sound terribly appealing.

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But he continued to mull it over for 2-3 days and eventually got his way to the finish line and said yes.

For one, it was likely made clear to him by the Penguins that after the Kasperi Kapanen trade, he was no longer guaranteed a top-six role in Pittsburgh. If you know the competitor in Hornqvist, that would have driven him nuts.

But I also think once Hornqvist realized how genuine Zito’s intentions were as far as wanting him not just for his style of play but his championship pedigree and leadership skills, that also helped the veteran winger work his way to the decision to waive.

(Photo: Jeff Vinnick / NHLI via Getty Images)

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Pierre LeBrun

Pierre LeBrun has been a senior NHL columnist for The Athletic since 2017. He has been an NHL Insider for TSN since 2011 following six years as a panelist on Hockey Night In Canada. He also appears regularly on RDS in Montreal. Pierre previously covered the NHL for ESPN.com and The Canadian Press. Follow Pierre on Twitter @PierreVLeBrun