The Arizona Coyotes Have Hired Their New Head Coach

The Arizona Coyotes have hired André Tourigny as their new head coach. He will replace Rick Tocchet, who held the role since the 2017-18 season. Both parties mutually agreed that it was time to move on back in May.

Although this will be Tourigny's first time ever being a head coach at the NHL level, he certainly has a lot experience behind the bench. He previously was an assistant coach of both the Colorado Avalanche and Ottawa Senators. Therefore, he has worked at the NHL level before. He also was head coach of the Ottawa 67's for the last four seasons. He was named OHL Coach of the Year twice during his tenure there, too. Thus, Coyotes fans should be excited to see if this translates to the NHL level.

Tourigny is joining the Coyotes at a time where a rebuild is likely coming. Last season was a rough one for them, as they missed the playoffs after finishing with a 24-26-6 record. The Coyotes are also looking to get younger and are even trying trade their captain, Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Also, Phil Kessel could find himself on a new team because of the departure of Tocchet. He will be handed a weaker lineup next season if all of this transpires.

It will be interesting to see how the Coyotes respond to Tourigny behind the bench, though. When looking at how well he's done in the OHL, it is fair to be a bit optimistic.