You can say and think nice things about a guy and not have him be your pick. I wouldn't read too much into generous comments. They build good will and it costs you nothing.
If you don't want him as your assistant, it's entirely possible he rejected a demotion. Doesn't mean Armstrong doesn't think he's a stand up guy. He also kept calling them "honest", so it's possible the guys he's calling out positively are the guys that didn't try to hide anything in stretchgate and talked openly to the NHL and/or Meruelo. Maybe he just wants to make sure that if some if these guys go, they aren't stained.