In his first 24 hours or so on the job as the new general manager of the American Hockey League’s Tucson Roadrunners — a job that fits square inside his other newly-minted role as assistant GM of the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes — John Ferguson got acclimated with his new home state as quickly as possible.
That meant being ready for a high of 108 degrees in the greater Phoenix area Wednesday afternoon; it also meant getting his first Mexican food fix.
Both those staples out of the way, the 54-year-old Montreal native and onetime Toronto Maple Leafs general manager now can get to work.
“It’s a great part of the country — Tucson and Arizona and this area. Great place to be to live and work, and if we do it right, to win,” Ferguson said Thursday during a virtual meet-up with Tucson media.
Ferguson was most recently the Boston Bruins’ executive director of player personnel. Similar to his new dual NHL-AHL role in Arizona, Ferguson served as general manager of the Providence Bruins.
Ferguson’s role parallels the one previously held by Steve Sullivan in both Tucson and Glendale for most of the last four seasons. Sullivan was fired in early February, just days into Tucson’s shortened and rescheduled 2021 AHL season.
Ferguson’s hire gives the Roadrunners a direct connection to the Coyotes’ front office, something they went without after Sullivan’s removal. Tucson promptly finished last in the AHL’s seven-team Pacific Division.
“Sometimes there’s some real gains from a fresh set of eyes and I’ll do that,” Ferguson said. “But I certainly won’t be stepping on any toes. I will come in and be a part of the club, and be a positive part of the club, and, frankly, be a good teammate to a group that’s already well established and a great group of professionals already in place.”
A player agent, lawyer and an NHL league office employee at various points in his early career, Ferguson brings more than three decades of professional hockey experience to Tucson. He led Providence to the best record in the AHL’s Eastern Conference in 2019-20 and a second straight division title in 2021.
Ferguson joins a Coyotes franchise that’s in full rebuild mode, having traded away known commodities for eight first-or second-round picks in the next NHL draft.
“There’s a huge challenge ahead of us, but an even greater opportunity for upside,” he said. “It’s very intriguing to me to … build it right from the ground floor. And that’s the intrigue. That’s the upside.”
How that affects Tucson will be a unique challenge in its own right.
While the Coyotes are expected to struggle this coming season while it waits for that upcoming draft, the Roadrunners are more of an enigma. Tucson’s 2021-22 lineup is expected to include legitimate NHL-caliber prospects in goal with Ivan Prosvetov, on the blueline with Victor Söderström, and up front with Barrett Hayton, Jan Jeník, Matias Maccelli and others.
Ferguson said it’s vital these players get enough time in Tucson and aren’t rushed to the NHL before they’re ready.
“I’ve been around the game at both levels for many years. I also played in the American Hockey League, and I’ve seen a lot of players who haven’t played enough games,” Ferguson said. “Very few have played too many American league games.
“We never put a ceiling on a player that they can’t advance quicker than expected,” he added, noting that, “more often than not, (the AHL is) the best play to be.”
Ferguson is perhaps most widely known for his oft-criticized tenure as the Maple Leafs’ GM. Hired to head one of the NHL’s most storied franchises at age 36 back in 2003, Ferguson’s decision-making with draft picks and other player assets still resonates in some hockey circles to this day.
Ferguson was in charge in 2004, when the Maple Leafs — one of the NHL’s most storied organizations — won their last playoff series.
Ferguson said that while he’ll be based in the Phoenix area due to his Coyotes duties, he plans to make the trek to Tucson as often as possible.
“As much as I can be, certainly, and I will also join the club on the road,” Ferguson said. “(Coach) Jay Varady and the development staff, we’ll be on touch on a daily basis, for sure.
“It’ll be a hands-on approach,” he added, noting that the Tucson coaching tree and support staff is a “very self-contained group — a very experienced group — and there’s a lot of continuity in the coaching staff and the development staff. So that’s going to help me learn and know the players and know the organization quicker.”
The Roadrunners open the 2021-22 season Oct. 15 at Stockton. The club’s first home game at Tucson Arena this season is slated for Oct. 23 against the Texas Stars.
