GM Bill Armstrong: Coyotes’ 3 deadline deals make way for younger contributors

Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong joined Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo on Friday after the team made three trades ahead of the NHL trade deadline.

Matt Dumba, Jason Zucker and Troy Stecher were all dealt in exchange for draft compensation. It was a seller’s move at what Armstrong called a seller’s market at the trade deadline.

The Coyotes took some chances in the summer adding Dumba and Zucker but Armstrong knew that if the team wasn’t playing well down the stretch, he would have to make some tough decisions.

“(Dumba) didn’t fit in our system very well,” Armstrong said. “It wasn’t due to lack of effort.” Dumba’s lack of production did make his trade market a little tougher to sift through, Armstrong noted.

Armstrong emphasized younger players getting a chance to play as 29-year-old Dumba and 32-year-old Zucker depart.

The general manager said 24-year-old Michael Kesselring has earned the opportunity to “fill those holes” left by Dumba.

Kesselring knocked in a game-winning goal on Sunday and spent a season high 20:24 on the ice on Tuesday.

Michael Carcone, 27, is another beneficiary of the added playing time. He has five points over the last five games, including three goals.

“The market was interesting out there, it always is. But for us, it was a chance to try out some free agents and we’re still on the plan,” Armstrong told Burns & Gambo. “We didn’t get locked into three- or four-year deals with players and now we’ve got the opportunity to kind of move forward.”