Arizona Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong announced that the team has signed John Ferguson to a multi-year contract to act as their assistant general manager. In addition, he will take over as general manager of the Coyotes AHL affiliate Tucson Roadrunners.
“We are very pleased to name John as our new assistant general manager,” said Armstrong. “John is extremely knowledgeable about the game and with 20-plus years in the NHL, brings a tremendous amount of experience to our hockey operations department. We are thrilled to have him join our team and I am looking forward to working with him.”
Ferguson was quick to state, “I’m very excited to join the Coyotes organization,” said Ferguson. “I’m grateful to Bill, Xavier Gutierrez and Mr. Meruelo for providing me with this opportunity. I’m excited about the Coyotes vision and plan for the future and look forward to helping Bill build a long-term winning team in the Valley.”
Ferguson Brings A Wealth Of Hockey Expertise
Ferguson’s last assignment was with the Boston Bruins for a period of seven years. He was the Bruins’ executive director of player personnel and general manager of the their AHL Providence Bruins affiliate. Thus, he has experience running an AHL team.
When he was with Boston he acted as a scout both at the professional and amateur levels. He has a skill of choosing prospects and other roster players. He can also help with advising on potential trades along with signings and other transactions.
Those attributes fit right in for the method Armstrong is using to build the Coyotes franchise back to respectability. Also, the Coyotes have accumulated so many draft picks for 2022, Ferguson could be a key ingredient in selecting talented draft picks to move the team forward.
NHL Background Is A Strong Skill For Ferguson
Ferguson, who hails from Montreal has a strong NHL resume that is impressive. He has run a hockey operations office plenty of the times in his career. Ferguson was the director of pro scouting for the San Jose Sharks from 2008-2014. He also served as vice president and general manager for the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2003-2008. Before that he was with the St. Louis Blues from 1997-2003 as an assistant general manager and director of hockey operations.
That’s quite a vast history of working for successful organizations and he will be a huge addition to the management office for the Arizona Coyotes. You have to think that Armstrong is doing everything in his power (and maybe more) to transform the Coyotes into a winning organization going forward… or at least after the rebuild kicks in. He has made significant trades in an attempt to stock up on draft picks. And, he may not be done yet making deals.
One thing is certain, Ferguson can be Armstrong’s right hand man in changing the destiny of the Arizona Coyotes.
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