Andre Tourigny signed a three-year contract to remain coach of the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday. The contract will run through the 2026-27 season.
The 49-year-old is entering the final season of the three-year contract he signed with Arizona on July 1, 2021. Last season, the Coyotes (28-40-14) finished seventh in the Central Division but won three more games and had 13 more points than in 2021-22.
"We are very pleased to sign Andre to a three-year extension," Arizona general manager Bill Armstrong said. "He is an excellent coach, leader and communicator who has helped us establish a tremendous culture in our dressing room. Our players like him, respect him and compete hard for him. We are thrilled to have him signed as our head coach for the next three years."
Tourigny said the feeling is mutual.
"The structure put in place by our management has energized our team," he said. "I'm also very fortunate to have such a quality coaching staff to work with. It is a pleasure and a privilege to work with them every day. In addition, our high performance, development, medical and equipment staff do an excellent job of taking care of our players. That is the best environment that you can dream of having.
"I feel very lucky to work with our group of players as well. The hard work and commitment to the team they have demonstrated the past two years has established the foundation of our culture. It's an exciting time to be part of the Coyotes. My family and I love the Valley and we are thrilled to be committed long term in Arizona."
Prior to being hired by Arizona, Tourigny coached Ottawa of the Ontario Hockey League for three seasons (2020-21 season was canceled), winning the Matt Leyden Trophy as OHL coach of the year twice (2018-19, 2019-20), and the Canadian Hockey League's Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award (2019-20). He also won the gold medal as an assistant for Canada at the 2021 IIHF World Championship, and a silver medal as Canada's coach at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship.
"When we did our research on him, I knew him from (junior hockey) pretty well," Armstrong said. "One of the things that I love about him and the reason that we have the ability to re-sign him and move into Phase 2 with him is because he doesn't leave a scar with the players. He has the players' best interests at heart and he's firm with the player. He motivates the player, but he doesn't leave a scar. I think they know that he likes them behind the scenes, and I think they feel that love and it enables him to get the most out of the player without leaving a scar."
Forward Jason Zucker, who signed a one-year contract with the Coyotes on July 1, echoed Armstrong.
"[Tourigny] was definitely a part of that call, and he was great," Zucker said. "He was great to talk to. I've talked to him multiple times. He was very instrumental in that original pitch. When we talked, he seems like a great coach. Everyone that I've talked to absolutely loves him."
Tourigny said he is happy to get the contract done before the Coyotes open the preseason with two games against the Los Angeles Kings in Melbourne, Australia, as part of the 2023 NHL Global Series on Sept. 23 and 24. They will start the regular-season with a four-game road trip, beginning at the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 13.
"That's huge," Tourigny said. "For a coach, I don't know, dealing or doing negotiations during the season, I don't think would've been awesome because your mind has to be on what you have to do. For me, it was this offseason or the next offseason. But there was no hesitation from the team. Billy came to see me when I was in Riga during the World Championship and talked to me right away. He said, 'do you have any interest in an extension?' I said, yes. He said, 'OK, do your job here at the Championship and we'll talk.' We talked a little bit before the draft, we talked during the development camp. We had a few things and needed time to get it done because that involved our assistant coaches and everything and Billy was on the same page. He thinks really highly of those guys. We needed to get everybody on board, so it took time but it was really smooth. No back and forth. We talked, I'd say, five times. Right from the get-go they gave me a good offer and we were really close. There were no negotiations of money or terms, there were just little details. It was really smooth."
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