The Arizona Coyotes were an American professional ice hockey team that was based in Phoenix, Arizona Glendale, Arizona, and later Tempe, Arizona. They played in the Central Division of the Western Conference in the National Hockey League (NHL).[1] The team started out as a charter member of the World Hockey Association (WHA), and were named the Winnipeg Jets. The WHA then merged with the NHL in 1979, the Jets relocated to Phoenix in 1996, and were renamed the Phoenix Coyotes.[2] Having first played at America West Arena,[2] the Coyotes have played their home games at the Gila River Arena, formerly named the Glendale Arena and the Jobing.com Arena, since 2003.[3] The Coyotes are owned by IceArizona.[4]
There have been seven head coaches for the Coyotes team. The team's first head coach was Don Hay, who coached for one season. Dave Tippett is the team's all-time leader for the most regular season games coached (622), the most regular season game wins (282), the most regular season points (647), the most playoff games coached (27), and the most playoff game wins (12). Tippett was the head coach of the Coyotes from the 2009–10 season until the end of 2016–17 season. [5] The Jack Adams Award has been awarded twice to a Coyotes' coach; Bob Francis for the 2001–02 season and Tippett for the 2009–10 season. None of the Coyotes coaches have been elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder,[6] though Wayne Gretzky has been elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a player in 1999.[7] Francis and Gretzky have each spent their entire NHL head coaching careers with the Coyotes. Rick Tocchet served as head coach from 2017 to 2021.[8] [9] The team's current head coach is Andre Tourigny, who was named to the position on July 1, 2021.[10] Tourigny coached the Coyotes until he was transferred to the Utah Hockey Club, along with the rest of the Coyotes staff and players, at the end of the 2023–24 season.
| Number of coaches | ||
| GC | Games coached | |
| W | Wins = 2 points | |
| L | Losses = 0 points | |
| T | Ties = 1 point | |
| OT | Overtime/shootout losses = 1 point | |
| PTS | Points | |
| Win% | Winning percentage | |
| Spent entire NHL head coaching career with the Coyotes |
Note: Statistics are correct through the 2020–21 season.
| Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Achievements | Reference | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GC | W | L | T/OT | PTS | Win% | GC | W | L | Win% | ||||||
| 1 | Don Hay | 1996–1997 | 82 | 38 | 37 | 7 | 83 | .506 | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429 | [11] | ||
| 2 | Jim Schoenfeld | 1997–1999 | 164 | 74 | 66 | 24 | 172 | .524 | 13 | 5 | 8 | .385 | [12] | ||
| 3 | Bob Francis | 1999–2004 | 390 | 165 | 144 | 81 | 411 | .527 | 10 | 2 | 8 | .200 | 2001–02 Jack Adams Award winner[13] | [14] | |
| 4 | Rick Bowness | 2004 | 20 | 2 | 12 | 6 | 10 | .250 | — | — | — | — | [15] | ||
| 5 | Wayne Gretzky | 2005–2009 | 328 | 143 | 161 | 24 | 310 | .473 | — | — | — | — | [16] | ||
| 6 | Dave Tippett | 2009–2017 | 622 | 282 | 257 | 83 | 647 | .520 | 27 | 12 | 15 | .444 | 2009–10 Jack Adams Award winner | [17] | |
| 7 | Rick Tocchet | 2017–2021 | 290 | 125 | 131 | 34 | 284 | .490 | 9 | 4 | 5 | .444 | [18] | ||
| 8 | Andre Tourigny | 2021–2024 | 246 | 89 | 131 | 26 | 204 | .415 | — | — | — | — | [19] | ||