After days of speculation suggesting that Andre Tourigny was the front-runner to take over as Arizona’s new head coach, the team made it official on Thursday, hiring Tournigny while signing him to a three-year contract. GM Bill Armstrong released the following statement:
“We are very pleased to name André as the new head coach of the Arizona Coyotes. André is a tremendous person and one of the best young coaches in the game today. He is a winner, a great teacher and a strong communicator who has a proven track record of developing young talent. We are confident that he is the right person to lead our team on the ice and we are thrilled to have him in our organization.”
While this is Tourigny’s first NHL head coaching job, it’s not his first time working in the league. Tourigny’s been an active coach since 1998, serving as an assistant coach with the Colorado Avalanche from 2013-2015 and with the Ottawa Senators in 2015-16.
Since then, Tourigny has been the head coach and vice president of hockey operations for the OHL’s Ottawa 67s, in which he’s seen great success. He’s coached recent highly touted prospects such as Marco Rossi and Jack Quinn en route to being one of the best teams in the league. He also served as the head coach for Canada’s U20 team at the World Juniors this year, winning a silver medal to add to his trophy case.
The Coyotes hope that a shift behind the bench can help propel the team to success sooner rather than later. Inconsistency on and off the ice has plagued the franchise for over a decade now, and they’ve made the playoffs only once since 2012. It may be a very different-looking team next year too, as forward Conor Garland finds himself in trade rumors. Tourigny will work to rehabilitate a roster that’s had a concerning lack of offense, and he’ll try to get more out of important players like Clayton Keller and Phil Kessel. A system more beneficial to Arizona’s offensively inclined players could unlock the next level for this team, something they’re hoping the Tourigny hire will do. He becomes the team’s seventh head coach since relocating from Winnipeg in 1996.
Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider was the first to report that Tourigny’s hiring had been finalized.
Either he is good with young player’s or no one else would take the job. I say the latter.Just move them somewhere else.
I go with the latter as well. IF he has a good season with them, he bails for a better team if he is smart.
He might also be into hot weather and golf?
Good thoughts.
He comes cheap.
Just trying to work up the ladder
Classic example of a cheap team and a guy realizing that there are literally on 32 jobs in the world and taking one. I bet he makes substantially less than any other coach in the league.
Without even drafting a player I think Seattle is in better shape than PHX.
Without even drafting a player I think Seattle is in better shape and PHX.
Maybe he can help them draft.
Step 1, have draft picks
Step 2, don’t draft sociopaths
Step 3, profit
Who is a sociopath in this case? There have been hockey players in prison before. yotes have made there draft bed. Just a lousy team from top to bottom.
Mitchell Miller is a sociopath.
I had forgot that. You are 100% right, I work with MC children. Made me mad went I saw it.
He was 14 at the time and has since publicly rescinded his actions. Did he actually feel remorse? I have no idea. People make mistakes. Mistakes can be very ugly. Doesn’t make it right and I don’t think what he did was ok but man if people held you to all your mistakes and me mine we’d all be disqualified from everything. Quit writing children off for poor behavior and see how he is as a man.
I cannot be impartial on this subject. He harmed a MC child. To close to home.I wonder how he does act with all the abuse in hockey. I guess will see.