Three-man brain trust shaping the roster

Trio collaborates as NHL trade deadline draws near

Like it has in recent years at this point in the schedule, change has started to remodel the Coyotes with trade activity making waves across the league.

Arizona has slipped into sellers’ mode for the third straight season, subtracting three veterans in exchange for a horde of draft picks and a pair of depth options.

And the deadline doesn’t hit until Wednesday.

But General Manager John Chayka isn’t making this maiden voyage into the trade-deadline waters solo.

This is the first run for the entire hockey operations department after last summer’s front-office shakeup.

Aside from the team promoting Chayka to GM from his previous post as assistant general manager, making him the youngest boss in pro sports history, coach Dave Tippett was given the title of executive vice president of hockey operations and co-owner Gary Drummond was appointed president of hockey operations.

And this three-person braintrust has been collaborating on the Coyotes’ roster makeover with more changes possible on the brink of the group’s most significant in-season opportunity to date.

“It’s gone, as far as decision-making, kind of exactly as we had hoped before the year started,” Drummond said.

A cohesive effort by the organization’s management staff was at the heart of the off-ice makeover last spring, which dismissed then-GM Don Maloney after nine seasons on the job. Communication has been steady throughout the mileposts on the calendar with the group guiding the Coyotes through last year’s draft, signing period and now the 2017 trade deadline.

"We want to make the best possible decision, the most informed decision," Chayka said. "We want to look at all different angles and how it affects coaching, ownership, obviously scouting and drafting, and the whole bit."

The trio doesn’t talk every day but close to it, Drummond said, with Tippett and Chayka together almost daily. Those two focus on the roster and the day-to-day decisions it requires, while Drummond adds leadership by highlighting the organization’s long-term plan.

For example, Tippett and Chayka will determine who should be ushered from the minors when a call-up is needed but Drummond may offer a perspective of what’s in line with the team’s ultimate strategy when deciding be-