The Arizona Coyotes are moving closer to naming a new general manager, but filling that vacancy is just the beginning of an organizational overhaul on tap for the coming off-season.
Coyotes president, CEO, and co-owner Anthony LeBlanc told azcentral.com that the team has had "multiple discussions with multiple individuals," regarding the GM position since Don Maloney was relieved of his duties on April 11.
"I wouldn't be shocked if we have some form of an announcement next week or the week thereafter," LeBlanc said of the club's GM search.
While the Coyotes are no strangers to off-season uncertainty, the focus heading into the off-season this year is on restructuring the hockey operations side of the organization rather than securing its ownership situation.
"There's more to it in our minds than the hiring of a GM. It's how is the entire department's going to be structured, and that's really what we're focusing on," LeBlanc said.
LeBlanc signalled philosophical differences between ownership and Maloney as the reason for his dismissal. Maloney had served as Coyotes GM since May of 2007. Whoever assumes the role will be an individual who is willing to embrace the game's emerging trends.
"It's not just looking at who you're going to draft," LeBlanc said. "It's how do you utilize sports science, how do you utilize nutrition? Of course, analytics is one that gets thrown out a lot. These are all different areas that if you look, some of the other forward-thinking teams, these are areas they're focusing on."
The Coyotes possess an excellent foundation with skilled young talents like defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, forwards Max Domi, and Anthony Duclair at the NHL level and 2015 first-round pick Dylan Strome on the horizon. Arizona has a 6.5 per cent shot at landing the first overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, too, which could present the club with quite an opportunity.
Auston Matthews, the top ranked prospect heading into the draft, is a native of Scottsdale, Arizona. Maloney and LeBlanc both poured water on the idea of trading Ekman-Larsson in an effort to move up the draft board to select Matthews in March.
"Would we on the business side love having a kid who started playing hockey because he went to a Coyotes game? … Of course," LeBlanc said.
"(But) we're not trading Oliver for a draft pick."
Changes are afoot in Arizona. Expect a new GM in the coming weeks as well as news on the arena front as the organization inches closer to securing its long-term future in the desert.
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