Rumor: Coyotes nearing extension with Tourigny

[knich]

Tippett still holds that honour until someone else has more playoff success and a couple of 100 point seasons.

What Tippett didn't do is successfully develop a young player or play an entertaining style. Vet players, a heavy trap, and relying on hot goalies worked for a couple years for sure, but when it went bad it never got better again.

Bear is showing me a lot more potential.

I agree with all that, and think Tourigny could be the best Coyotes coach in history in short order, but for now Tippett still has the actual numbers.

Can I agree with all three posts at the same time? I guess I just did.

 

[YotesFan47]

Longtime Yotes fans... is he the best coach we've ever had? I think he might be. Maybe Tippett for a few years in there but I feel like AT is better -- good tactically, great at development, also a strong communicator. That's a rare (and amazing) set of skills

I think they've (DT and AT) operated on vastly different rosters and circumstances, but both have shown value. DT's knock is that he wore out his welcome and tried to be too involved in the front office. Limit his time here more and I think we all miss him.

Given what he's had to work with, on top of his green resume when it comes to NHL coaching, AT has done exceptional. I just hope he doesn't ware out his welcome too quickly.

 

[Canis Latrans]

I think they've (DT and AT) operated on vastly different rosters and circumstances, but both have shown value. DT's knock is that he wore out his welcome and tried to be too involved in the front office. Limit his time here more and I think we all miss him.

Given what he's had to work with, on top of his green resume when it comes to NHL coaching, AT has done exceptional. I just hope he doesn't ware out his welcome too quickly.

Both were at different career stages when they arrived at the Coyotes; Tippett established plus a less orderly management/ownership team is what had him encroaching. With Tourigny, as he's new, and his career goal at this time wouldn't be directed in that fashion at all. Put that together with a much more solid ownership/management foundation, and all he has to worry about is coaching.

I think you can also credit Tippett for knowing he wasn't going to get any coveted free agents and knowing precisely that he had to adapt his style of play to win by shutting down opposing talent. We had enough talent to hold even and if we scored first, they rarely surrendered the lead if I'm recalling correctly.

Tourigny is held in high esteem here because he's come in as a new coach, exceeded expectations already and most importantly, a ton of young guys are developing really well. It's basically the ideal situation for a rebuilding team; he's done everything you could ask of him for the team at this stage in the rebuild. He's also demonstrated some good tactics which have allowed us to control the puck more, actually bringing it into the zone which was never happening under Tocchet and I think not happening much under Tippett's latter years due to conservatism. All together, it provides him the benefit of the doubt in thinking that he'll do just fine once the talent has fully arrived and the team has to compete at the top. We don't really have evidence pointing to anything yet as to why he would struggle to coach at the top level yet other than that he's still a relatively new NHL head coach who hasn't been there yet.

 

[YotesFan47]

Both were at different career stages when they arrived at the Coyotes; Tippett established plus a less orderly management/ownership team is what had him encroaching. With Tourigny, as he's new, and his career goal at this time wouldn't be directed in that fashion at all. Put that together with a much more solid ownership/management foundation, and all he has to worry about is coaching.

I think you can also credit Tippett for knowing he wasn't going to get any coveted free agents and knowing precisely that he had to adapt his style of play to win by shutting down opposing talent. We had enough talent to hold even and if we scored first, they rarely surrendered the lead if I'm recalling correctly.

Tourigny is held in high esteem here because he's come in as a new coach, exceeded expectations already and most importantly, a ton of young guys are developing really well. It's basically the ideal situation for a rebuilding team; he's done everything you could ask of him for the team at this stage in the rebuild. He's also demonstrated some good tactics which have allowed us to control the puck more, actually bringing it into the zone which was never happening under Tocchet and I think not happening much under Tippett's latter years due to conservatism. All together, it provides him the benefit of the doubt in thinking that he'll do just fine once the talent has fully arrived and the team has to compete at the top. We don't really have evidence pointing to anything yet as to why he would struggle to coach at the top level yet other than that he's still a relatively new NHL head coach who hasn't been there yet.

Certainly, and I think your point about AT not needing to get involved in the FO beyond what is asked of him is important. I think the defining difference between them for me is the slack they give young players. DT rarely let a young guy make mistakes without living them down, where AT appears to push young guys to try again but correct what went wrong through trial. There are other areas of major difference, but I think some of that can be chalked up to environment.

Anyway, I love AT's style, I do however have some concerns on if it will get us a cup. I sometimes wonder if he's too willing to take risks and open the team up to being scored on. His first playoffs will be a great learning experience when it finally happens, but his second will tell us if he's legit.

 

[Kai Yo T]

I think Tippett and AT were both exactly what the team needed while here and they both did very well with what they were given. Like Tippett, AT will wear out his welcome someday too. They all do. hard to compare.

 

[Vinny Boombatz]

All coaches are "hired to be fired"...but the 'great' ones can stick for a long, long time and I'm just hoping that AT is exactly that and we can keep him for a very long time.

 

[cobra427]

Tip>Francis>Shoney> everyone else. Let's see if AT can surpass the 70 point mark and maybe make the playoffs before we honor him as the greatest coach in Coyotes history. I like AT, but I also think the massive improvement to 70 points, still 25+ points to make the playoffs, might be due to young players improving, we have a lot of them. I think he has the makings of being a good coach at the NHL level but time will tell me if thats the case. We will know more after this year.

 

[Jakey53]

Tip>Francis>Shoney> everyone else. Let's see if AT can surpass the 70 point mark and maybe make the playoffs before we honor him as the greatest coach in Coyotes history. I like AT, but I also think the massive improvement to 70 points, still 25+ points to make the playoffs, might be due to young players improving, we have a lot of them. I think he has the makings of being a good coach at the NHL level but time will tell me if thats the case. We will know more after this year.

I agree. The organization, coaches and players have had no pressure on them to win the last two years, and that changes this year. BA added some pretty good pieces in Dumba, Kerfoot, Zucker, Durzi etc. to help AT to get to that next level. Also we get a full year of Maccelli, Guenther, Cooley, Ingram etc. For me, anything less than 80pts. would be a disappointment.

 

[rt]

I agree. The organization, coaches and players have had no pressure on them to win the last two years, and that changes this year. BA added some pretty good pieces in Dumba, Kerfoot, Zucker, Durzi etc. to help AT to get to that next level. Also we get a full year of Maccelli, Guenther, Cooley, Ingram etc. For me, anything less than 80pts. would be a disappointment.

I think 80pts is about the top end of my expectations. I’m thinking around 72-82pts.

 

[Antonche]

Look at the roster of Nashville, Minnesota, Winnipeg or Blues - you are reaaly think, that their rosters much better? I don't think so. We right under Colorado and Dallas. The rest in the mix, except Chicago.

 

[rt]

Look at the roster of Nashville, Minnesota, Winnipeg or Blues - you are reaaly think, that their rosters much better?

I do think their rosters are better. But you never know with injuries and coaching and culture.

 

[Grimes]

Look at the roster of Nashville, Minnesota, Winnipeg or Blues - you are reaaly think, that their rosters much better? I don't think so. We right under Colorado and Dallas. The rest in the mix, except Chicago.

Minnesota and Nashville are clearly better. Nashville's forward core may be a touch worse than ours but their blueline is superior and they have a top 5 goalie.

I think we are pretty on par with STL. They probably have a better blueline even if ours has more upside. Forward core pretty even and same as goaltending.

If WPG keep Helley they still have a stronger roster. If they move him they could be in trouble. Maybe our Jets friends have better insight but I'm slightly confused with their direction

 

[Sinurgy]

AT has a long way to go to unseat Tippet. The potential is there but I think people are forgetting how good the Coyotes were there for a few years under Tippet and he did it all under horrible circumstances. We all remember the no offense, trying to squeeze blood from stone end years of Tippet where he was rightfully let go but let's not forget he also authored 3 straight playoff years including a trip to the conference finals. Not to mention he also authored a 50 win season, which seems almost unfathomable right now, only to get a horrible first round matchup against Datsyuk/Zetterberg/Lidstrom led Redwings who were cup favorites that year (and seemingly ever year back then). I hope AT can overtake him someday but he's still got a long way to go!

 

[LuckyNumber11]

The thing that stinks is that the end of Tipp's time just left such a sour taste. He's our best coach ever, for sure, but man he sucked at the end.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

I can't wait until we can say that Dave Tippett wasn't our best coach ever.

I have nothing against the guy as a person, but the fact that he's at the top of our coaching pyramid by common consensus says a lot about how bad our overall coaching history has been.

I still think Tippett's best move was to pick his group of favorites and ride with them, and while that group contained vets with great leadership qualities like Doan, Aucoin, and Whitney, we prospered. It didn't hurt that the blood-from-stone Super Tippy Trap made some wholly average goalies seem like superstars (not just Bryz and Smitty, but guys like Tellqvist who probably wouldn't have even been third-stringers on a real team), and that in 2012 Mike Smith had a come-to-Jeebus epiphany that he never had before and could not replicate afterward.

I will wholeheartedly admit that Tippett's maneuverings post-2012 have soured me incredibly on him professionally, so yeah, I'm biased. But I hope we're aspiring toward a higher level of coaching greatness than what he delivered.

 

[Jakey53]

I think 80pts is about the top end of my expectations. I’m thinking around 72-82pts.

Last year we had 70, so 72 would be an embarrassment. The kids should get better, and our forward depth is so much better, so hopefully we have the puck a bit more because our D will need all the help they can get.

 

[rt]

Last year we had 70, so 72 would be an embarrassment.

Every season is unique.

 

[Vinny Boombatz]

Every season is unique.

Exactly right, but given the same circumstances w/regards to injuries, I would expect a 5-win improvement over last season.

 

[SR]

Speaking of Francis, I dated his daughter for a hot couple months back in the day. Assuming we’re talking about Bobby..

 

[rt]

Speaking of Francis, I dated his daughter for a hot couple months back in the day. Assuming we’re talking about Bobby..

How is Francine doing these days?

 

[AZviaNJ]

Minnesota and Nashville are clearly better. Nashville's forward core may be a touch worse than ours but their blueline is superior and they have a top 5 goalie.

I think we are pretty on par with STL. They probably have a better blueline even if ours has more upside. Forward core pretty even and same as goaltending.

If WPG keep Helley they still have a stronger roster. If they move him they could be in trouble. Maybe our Jets friends have better insight but I'm slightly confused with their direction

That's how I see the divisional grouping:

Colorado/Dallas
Minn/Nash
Wpg/AZ/STL/Chi (in that order...changes once Helley is traded to NJ)

 

[SR]

How is Francine doing these days?

Unknown. This was a long time ago. By all accounts he was an excellent guy to be around for the little interaction I had with him.

 

[Fyreman]

How is Francine doing these days?

Saw Bobby Francis at a car wash about a year ago, was using a walker, slow speech, not very mobile and trouble communicating.

 

[Fyreman]

Exactly right, but given the same circumstances w/regards to injuries, I would expect a 5-win improvement over last season.

I concur, 19 of 26 to begin the season on the road, gosh darn it that is BRUTAL.

 

[rt]

That took a dark turn. I was making a joke that his daughter’s name was Francine Francis. Or Frannie Frannie. Not a good joke. But that’s a really bummer about Francis and his health.