Coyotes fire GM Don Maloney
The Arizona Coyotes announced on Monday that they have fired general manager Don Maloney.
Some surprising news out of Arizona on Monday afternoon as the Arizona Coyotes announced that they have fired general manager Don Maloney.
"On behalf of our ownership group and the entire Arizona Coyotes organization, I would like to sincerely thank Don for all of his hard work and the many contributions he made to our organization during his tenure,” Coyotes president Anthony LeBlanc said in a statement announcing the move. "The Coyotes had some success with Don, but we believe a change in leadership is needed in order to move our franchise forward in a new direction."
According to the team, assistant general managers John Chayka and Chris O'Hearn will handle the hockey operations until a new GM is hired.
When you look at how the Coyotes have missed the playoffs four years in a row it would be easy to think that the change is justified, and perhaps even overdue. But the situation in Arizona has always been a bit more complicated than just the on-ice record of the team (Leblanc also said in his press conference on Monday that the change wasn't just about the team missing the playoffs).
When the Coyotes hired Maloney, he was taking over what was perhaps the worst situation in the league given the ownership scenario, uncertain future of the team and shoestring budget. It seemed to be an impossible situation. But the Coyotes immediately found success under Maloney's watch thanks to his ability to find cheap talent from the NHL's bargain bin, especially when it came to goaltenders.
Even with all of the disadvantages he built a team that made the playoffs three years in a row, including a run to the Western Conference finals in 2011-12 and was three wins away from the Stanley Cup Final.
It's hard to imagine many other GMs having that much success given all of the variables that existed.
Even though the team has been unable to return to that level in the years that followed, Maloney still seemed to have the team headed in the right direction.
Along with one of the top defenseman in the NHL in Oliver Ekman-Larsson, the Coyotes also have an impressive collection of young forwards with Max Domi and Anthony Duclair already making an impact, and Dylan Strome, the No. 3 overall pick in 2015 and perhaps the best prospect of the bunch, ready to make his debut next season.
At this point, coach Dave Tippett remains in place, and his job seems to be safe. There is even speculation that Tippett could be involved in the hiring of the new GM.
