Coyotes name Larry Pleau as special advisor to GM Bill Armstrong
Aug 6, 2021, 2:31 PM | Updated: 3:24 pm
An offseason of front office turnover for the Arizona Coyotes continued on Friday, as the team named Larry Pleau as special advisor to the general manager, Bill Armstrong.
Pleau has an extensive history in the game of hockey, being a three-time Stanley Cup champion as well as being inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000.
He played three seasons in the NHL for the Montreal Canadiens, where he was part of the 1971 Stanley Cup winning team.
His other two championships were from the front office, as vice president of player personnel with the New York Rangers in 1993-94 and in 2019-20, as a member of the St. Louis Blues scouting department.
After helping the Rangers lift the Stanley Cup, he was hired by the Blues to be their general manager in 1997. He held that position until 2010 to be the longest tenured general manager in franchise history, helping the Blues win the Presidents Trophy in 1999-2000.
Armstrong and Pleau worked together in St. Louis, where Armstrong was hired as an amateur scout in 2004.
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In his involvement with USA Hockey, Pleau was the assistant general manager of the 2002 U.S. Olympic team that won a silver medal. He served as the general manager for the 2003 and 2004 IIHF World Championships, as well as the 2004 World Cup of Hockey.
Pleau played an instrumental part to the Hartford Whalers. Before the team became the Carolina Hurricanes, Pleau spent 17 total seasons with the Whalers organization in a variety of roles.
He was a player, assistant coach, head coach and general manager, where he drafted Hall of Famer Ron Francis to the organization in 1981.
“We are thrilled to add Larry to the Coyotes organization,” Armstrong said in a statement following the hire. “Larry brings a wealth of hockey knowledge and front office experience to our team and he will be a valuable addition to our management group. He will play an important role in helping us build a long-term winning team here in the Valley.”
