Morning Skate: The NHL’s Black Monday claimed a talented GM in Don Maloney

Lace ‘em up. Time for the Morning Skate.

The Arizona Coyotes fired general manager Don Maloney on Monday, which may come as a surprise to many. On some level, it’s certainly a head-scratcher.

Rarely do you see general managers fired in the midst of a franchise rebuild. Or, at least, they don’t usually get canned two years into one. For that to happen, you’d expect one of two reasons to be the cause: philosophical differences with the rest of the front office, or that the rebuild got off to such a poor start that a new direction was needed quickly.

It wasn’t the latter. Some of the talent Maloney either acquired or drafted over the last couple of years is already making an impact. Max Domi and Anthony Duclair are about to be one of the best duos in the NHL, if they aren’t already. Dylan Strome, Nick Merkley, Brendan Perlini and Christian Dvorak are blue-chip talents waiting in the wings. And the Coyotes finished nine points out of a playoff spot a year after almost winning the draft lottery. There’s real hope there.

So Maloney is gone because of a rift in the front office. Arizona owners basically confirmed as much on Monday, claiming Maloney didn’t spend money wisely and alluding to communication issues throughout the organization. Which are fair points to make.

But don’t think Maloney won’t find a new job quickly. He navigated the franchise through the tumultuous bankruptcy years and guided the franchise to three straight playoffs in the meantime. Arizona’s sudden fall from grace may have been on Maloney’s shoulders, but he’s proven himself as a more-than-capable general manager. His loss in a power struggle will certainly be some other franchise’s gain.