After months of waiting to see what kind of moves new general manager Bill Armstrong would make, it has finally come. He announced his new head coach, Andre Tourigny. Tourigny will be the new man behind the bench and got a three-year contract. While Armstrong seems pleased with his choice, Tourigny remains an unknown to most Coyotes’ fans. He was a successful coach for the Ottawa 67’s and had a couple of brief assistant coaching stints in the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche and Ottawa Senators.
So, in other words, a little less experience behind an NHL bench than former Coyotes’ head coach Rick Tocchet. It seems to be that Armstrong’s attraction to Tourigny is his ability to work with young players. The Desert Dogs’ average age for their centres comes in at 26.14. The wingers’ average is 26.4. Their defence is ageing and will mostly be replaced since they average 29.7 right now. In net, the average age is 29.3, but there again it is doubtful that Antti Raanta at 32 years old, will be back.
Bill Armstrong Has Made His First Major Move As General Manager
In an article in SI.com Armstrong commented on his choice of head coach, “He was known as this big, tough coach,” Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong said. “And I watched him interact with his players for about two hours. And I was fascinated (with) his ability to interact with the young kids, and at the same time get the most out of them on the ice. He didn’t know I was there. True story.”
The Coyotes will probably have a few rookies like Barrett Hayton, Victor Söderstrom, and Jan Jeník, more than likely making the jump next season. Hiring Tourigny who has a wealth of experience with prospects, has to be viewed as a good move. Arizona really needs to improve on developing players, and they may have hired the perfect coach to help accomplish that.
What Were the Options?
While all Coyotes’ fans knew there were lots of other coaching choices, what they don’t know is what the budget was for finding a new head coach. It has been known that owner Alex Meruelo wants to keep an internal budget of about $65 million. Spending a fortune on a head coach can really cut into the remaining dollars available. In making the decision to go with Tourigny, it seems that Armstrong is focusing on developing his younger players. That has been a weakness and with Tourigny’s help some young guns like Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, Christian Dvorak, Lawson Crouse, Conor Garland (if he remains in Arizona), Michael Bunting, and Christian Fischer can benefit from his tutelage.
The Next Step
No doubt that Tourigny will be putting his head together with GM Armstrong to begin the transformation of getting to know his new team. He and Armstrong will have some huge decisions to make regarding the roster going forward. The team is in dire need to gain some offensive prowess. They lost too many games because they just flat out couldn’t score. The other challenge will be to revamp the defence since most of the blueline could be gone by the time training camp ensues. That means Tourigny and Armstrong need to look at who they can add to a pretty depleted blueline.
What Moves Are Still Needed
Players like Phil Kessel could be gone considering he has already been paid his $5 million bonus and is only owed $1 million, some of which is paid for by the Toronto Maple Leafs. So, that amounts to a contender looking at adding Kessel for a very attractive $850,000 of actual money. Will the Coyotes get something in return? Hopefully. Even a draft pick and or a prospect would be helpful for the team’s leading goal scorer last season.
Another puzzle piece yet to be determined is what to do with Conor Garland. He really needs to stay in Arizona. He’s a fan favourite and without him, the Coyotes’ offence will further disseminate. We’ll see what Tourigny’s input is on Garland, but he needs to get signed. Delaying it any longer could mean the Arizona club may try to trade him. Then, there’s the newly updated situation with Oliver Ekman-Larsson. The team will look into any possible trades, but OEL gets to approve it first. The biggest issue is his albatross contract which calls for a massive $8.25 cap hit for seven more seasons. His lack of performance lately will definitely include the team retaining salary to complete the deal.
The last player to consider is Darcy Kuemper. His future here in the desert has been in question for a while. It may depend on if the team decides to be competitive or continues to rebuild. Kuemper could be an asset that brings them back a good return if they throw in the towel towards winning now.
There’s no doubt dealing with these player issues will be a front-burner item for both Tourigny and Armstrong, so we’ll see how it comes out.
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