Tourigny hired as coach of Coyotes

Andre Tourigny was hired as coach of the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday.

The 47-year-old replaces Rick Tocchet after the Coyotes (24-26-6) failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the eight-team Honda West Division. It was announced May 9 that Tocchet would not return after four seasons.
"I want the players to see it as a fresh start," Tourigny said. "I don't want to hold them accountable to what happened in the past. At some point in life when you have a chance to have a fresh start to prove yourself, now you control your destiny. That's what I want from the players. I want the players to know it's not about what they did in the past. I want them to arrive here with the philosophy to 'prove myself. It's a new coach, a new area, a new culture and I want to prove myself.'"
Tourginy signed a three-year contract. He coached Ottawa in the Ontario Hockey League the past four seasons and is a two-time OHL Coach of the Year (2018-19, 2019-20). He was an assistant at the 2021 IIHF World Championship, where he helped Canada win the tournament, and coached Canada to second place at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship.
"I've known about him a long time," Arizona general manager Bill Armstrong said. "I thought he was a secret, but when I got into digging, he was no secret. He's got a wealth of knowledge and experience, and the other thing you look at, he's coached a little in the NHL too, and that was very attractive. I'm a digger. I spoke to a ton of his players, did a ton of research into the people who have worked with him over the years. It's just a very impressive background. I was very excited about the opportunity to kind of work with him and build a team together."

Tourginy was an assistant for the Colorado Avalanche (2013-15) and Ottawa Senators (2015-16), and coached Rouyn-Noranda and Halifax in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He was named QMJHL Coach of the Year with Rouyn-Noranda in 2005-06.
"I'm a junkie for learning," Tourigny said. "I love to learn, I love to listen to people, I've been in every conference I could find in North America for the last 20 years, read books and stuff like that. I want to believe I'm a sponge and I learn from everybody. I still have a strong personality and I have my own style and my own value, but I like to learn from everybody and that's what I did all the way through.
"Throughout the process, Bill asked me, 'Which team would you like to play like?' I was kind of, 'I want to play [defensive] zone like that team, I want to play [offensive] zone like that team, I want to work hard like that team.' I couldn't say, 'That's the team.' I try to take the best from everybody and build my dream scenario. Now I have the passion and energy to pursue that dream."
The Coyotes made the playoffs last season after finishing 11th in the Western Conference with a .529 points percentage (33-29-8). They defeated the Nashville Predators in four games in the best-of-5 Stanley Cup Qualifiers before a five-game loss to the Avalanche in the best-of-7 Western Conference First Round. It was the first time the Coyotes qualified for the playoffs and won a postseason series since 2011-12.
Armstrong said Tourigny will be included as the Coyotes attempt to upgrade the roster.
"It's a value to have his opinion," Armstrong said. "There's a famous story of an organization I kind of grew up in where we got a great player, the coach didn't like him, he never played him. They have to be part of the process and have some input on what they like and how can we make the team better. They're living with those guys night and day, so they do get a seat at the table.
"On my end, there are a lot of holes to fill, especially on the back side. So we'll be looking to tap into free agency and looking to acquire some players who will give us some identity. I think we did that pretty well last year in the same kind of market where we went out and got [forward Tyler] Pitlick and [forward Johan] Larsson. They've given us a little bit of grit and we want to expand that and get more identity, get more bang and continue to pursue players who will compete every single night. You draw a line with the coach and players and try to make sure you're bringing in players who will support the style that Andre plays."
Tourigny said whatever the roster looks like, the common trait will be a need for players to play with passion.
"I'm a passionate guy," he said. "I like to bring a lot of energy but I like to hold players accountable and like the team to play relentless. I like to play a style of play that's tough to play against with a lot of pace. But I think the relationship with the players, partnership with the players is really important. Passion is really important, and being relentless and accountable that is the way I would describe what I want to bring."
NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers contributed to this report