Extending André Tourigny is the right move for the Arizona Coyotes

The Arizona Coyotes made news on Tuesday announcing that they had signed head coach André Tourigny to a three year contract extension. The Arizona Coyotes are not going to be competing for the Stanley Cup anytime soon, but keeping around Tourigny is the right call for the team.

Extending André Tourigny is the right move for the Arizona Coyotes

To an outsider this past season might have looked like another failed season for the Arizona Coyotes. They finished seventh in the Central Division with a record of 28-40-14, and were near the bottom of the standings once again. However, this team managed to play way above their exceptions last year.

Coyotes head coach André Tourigny took a Coyote roster that was meant to finish in last place and actually improved. The Coyotes put up 70 points this past season, a 13 point improvement from the year prior.

The team did that with a goalie tandem of Karel Vejmelka and Connor Ingram, two goalies that had  not even 60 games of experience combined heading into last season. Overall, the Coyotes were supposed to struggle at winning even 15 games last season, and yet they managed to win 28 and compete most nights.

I think one of the main reasons that Coach Tourigny and the Coyotes agreed to a three year contract extension has to do with how much the players bought in to his coaching habits. Coyotes star Clayton Keller had his very best season offensively this past season. Additionally, Lawson Crouse, Matias Maccelli and even Barrett Hayton all had strong seasons.

The Coyotes might not be contending for a championship or even making it close to the playoffs, but they are playing respectable hockey and are putting up a fight every night.

Now whether or not Tourigny will be with the Coyotes when they eventually do start to win will be interesting to see. Teams that rebuild usually have a coach that is with the team during their struggling years before they bring in a veteran for their eventually playoff push. That is a question for down the line, but for now the Coyotes are in a good place with Tourigny. Having some stability behind the bench for the next few years will only help the young players along.