Arizona Coyotes Hire John Ferguson Jr.

1:15pm: The Coyotes have made it official, signing Ferguson Jr. to a multi-year contract as AGM. Bill Armstrong released a statement:

We are very pleased to name John as our new assistant general manager. 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.

11:25am: The Arizona Coyotes are expected to announce a new assistant general manager shortly, as both Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald and Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports are reporting that John Ferguson Jr. will join the club.

The long-time executive has spent the last seven years with the Boston Bruins organization, serving as a director of player personnel. Prior to that he was with the San Jose Sharks as a director of pro scouting, Toronto Maple Leafs as general manager, St. Louis Blues as assistant GM and the Ottawa Senators as a scout. The son of five-time Stanley Cup winner John Ferguson, who played 500 games with the Montreal Canadiens before his own long front office career, Ferguson Jr. has been around the league for basically his entire life.

There are still some who point to the failed tenure as GM in Toronto as a reason to doubt Ferguson Jr. but make no mistake, he is a well-respected executive and was valuable to the Bruins organization. The Coyotes, who are trying to rebuild not only the on-ice product but also the perception of the front office, will happily welcome his experience and knowledge to their management group.

Since firing Steve Sullivan earlier this year, the Coyotes have operated without an official AGM. Morgan reports that Ferguson Jr. will in charge of the Tucson Roadrunners, who went without a GM for part of this season after Sullivan’s departure. That’s something he is very familiar with, having been GM of the Providence Bruins for the past five seasons.