By Jordan Long
The Arizona Coyotes have filled their Head Coaching vacancy. The job had been open since they fired Rick Tocchet on May 12th. He had been there for 4 years. They hired Andre Tourigny as his replacement.
Tocchet was hired by the Coyotes prior to the 2017 season. He had been with the Pittsburgh Penguins as an assistant coach. Before that, he was the Tampa Bay Lightning Head Coach for 148 games from 2008 to 2010. His record with the Lightning was 53-69-26. Tampa Bay never made the postseason under him. The Coyotes hoped that the lessons he learned as an assistant coach with Pittsburgh would bring better results. Arizona hadn’t been past the 1st-round of the NHL playoffs since 2012 when they were beaten in the Western Conference Finals.
Tocchet struggled to help this team reach the next level. The Coyotes missed the postseason in 2018 and 2019. In 2020 they played in the bubble. Arizona defeated Nashville in the qualifying round in the best of 5, 3-1. In the next round against Colorado, they were no match. The Avalanche knocked them off in 5 games.
This year the Coyotes expected to be back in playoff contention. Unfortunately, they ended with a record of 24-26-6 for a total of 54 points. They missed out on a playoff spot by 9 points.
The Coyotes had a tough time scoring on full strength situations. Arizona averaged 2.68 goals per game, 23rd in the NHL. On defense, Arizona permitted teams to keep the puck in the defensive zone. These equaled shots on goal and rebounds. Opponents were able to shoot the puck past the goaltender. Arizona gave up 3.11 goals against per game 22nd in the NHL.
Special teams is where the team played well this year. On the power play, they scored on 20.8% of their chances, 13th in the NHL. On the power play kill, Arizona blocked shots and were able to carry the puck to the other end of the ice to take time off of it. They killed off 80.8% of their penalties.
Tocchet didn’t seem to make in game adjustments when the Coyotes played at full strength. Even when he tried to mix up his lines, it didn’t work. They couldn’t seem to score or defend which is what cost him his job.
Tourigny has never been an NHL Head Coach. He was an assistant with the Colorado Avalanche from 2013 to 2015 and the Ottawa Senators for the 2015-2016 season. He has been a Head Coach in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies from 2003 to 2013. Tourigny also served as the Head Coach of the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in 2017. For the past two years, he has been the Head Coach of the Ottawa 67’s of the Ontario Hockey League.
Tourigny knows how to coach. It may not be at the NHL level. At least he has been an assistant coach in the NHL and knows how the game is played. The Coyotes would like to be a playoff team year in and year out. They anticipate Tourigny will be able to do so. Arizona gave Tocchet 4 years to try and turn the Coyotes back into a playoff team. They should give Tourigny the same amount of time. If Tourigny can’t produce victories he could be gone in 4 years and the Coyotes will look for another Head Coach.
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