GM Bill Armstrong speaks about what Utah Hockey Club rebuild looks like from here on out

The Utah Hockey Club starts the season as the underdogs of the league. Under the “Arizona Coyotes” branding last season, the team maintained a playoff spot for a large portion of the season, only to go on a 14-game losing streak amidst the rumors that they may be relocating to Utah.
Utah comes into the league with an altered roster from the one in Arizona. The core group of players is largely the same, but they’ve added a star defenseman in Mikhail Sergachev and a number of supporting veterans, mainly on defense. The expectation is that the team will be better than it was last season.
General manager Bill Armstrong has tried to temper expectations, telling media on a number of occasions that teams that are four years into rebuilds rarely make the playoffs. His goal is to play meaningful games toward the end of the season, meaning they’re either fighting to maintain a playoff spot or fighting to get one.
At the Utah HC media conference on Wednesday, Armstrong faced the media, primarily answering questions about his plans for the season and beyond.
“Out of all the teams, we might be in the best shape as an organization,” Armstrong said. “We don’t really have any bad contracts, we’ve got cap room to add, we’ve got a boatload of picks and a boatload of prospects that are knocking on the door to become NHL players.”
The Deseret News asked Armstrong whether he would continue to acquire bad contracts in order to gain more draft picks, as he has done since he became the general manager of the Coyotes. Armstrong said that is not his goal at this time.
“We can never have enough picks, but we’re past that point at this stage,” Armstrong said. “We’re interested in building upon what we have and moving forward.”
He continued, saying that it messes with the minds of the players to tear down the roster. On the contrary, he said he will wake up every day and try to improve the team, whether it be through trades, waiver claims or bringing up players from the minors.
One member of the media asked Armstrong whether he planned to add or sell at the trade deadline, which is on March 7. He said he would cross that bridge when he got to it, as he doesn’t know where his team will be in the standings at that point in the season.
Armstrong did, however, hint that he would be willing to spend in order to make his team better if they are in a position to make a good playoff run.
“We have assets,” he said.