Tourigny was entering the final year of his three-year contract that he signed in July 2021, and has been hailed for both the culture he has fostered within the Coyotes' locker room, as well as how well key players on the team have developed over the past few seasons. The 49-year-old, nicknamed 'Bear,' now has a deal that takes him through the end of the 2026-27 season.
"It means a lot to have the trust of Mr. Meruelo, Xavier, Bill Armstrong, and all of management trusting us with that rebuild and that process," Tourigny said. "We made some additions this summer, it's really positive and we have a lot of energy, but getting into the season with a brand new contract for everybody, it means a lot to us."
Bear does in fact belong in the desert. 😎 #PackLove
Tourigny has excelled at every level since beginning his coaching career as an assistant with the QMJHL's Shawinigan Cataractes in the 1998-99 season, and is a highly decorated head coach, earning the Ron Lapointe Trophy as the QMJHL's coach of the year (2005-06), the Matt Leyden Trophy as the OHL's coach of the year (2018-19, 2019-20), and the Brian Kilrea Award as the CHL's coach of the year (2019-20).
He's also earned success at the international level, where he led Team Canada to a World Juniors gold in 2019-20 and a
That winning pedigree made Tourigny an attractive candidate for Arizona's head coaching position prior to the 2021-22 season, and Armstrong said he couldn't be happier with the results to this point.
"I was always a big fan about how he approached it, how he drove our culture, got everybody to buy in and work hard, which was expected every single game -- win, lose, or draw," Armstrong said. "He's done a really great job in the first step for us, and he's earned the contract extension. It's good to be able to reward him for all his work."
Tourigny has helped develop the Coyotes' core of players, many of whom have posted career bests under his guidance. Clayton Keller (career-high 86 points, Masterton finalist in 2022-23), Nick Schmaltz (career-high 59 points in 2021-22), Matias Maccelli (49 points, 4th in Calder voting in 2022-23), Lawson Crouse (career-high 45 points in 2022-23), and Barrett Hayton (career-high 43 points in 2022-23) have excelled under the current staff, and J.J. Moser and Juuso Valimaki have emerged as critical pieces on Arizona's blue line.
The culture fostered by Tourigny and his staff is one that
to The Valley earlier this summer, including the return of both Bjugstad and Stecher, who were moved by Armstrong at the 2023 trade deadline before deciding to come back this summer.
Both Bjugstad and Stecher credited Tourigny for their desire to return to Arizona, and spoke highly of the team's culture and integrity.
"It's humbling to have those kind of comments, and it shows the character of those individuals, as well," Tourigny said. "Those guys are the ultimate pros. That's a coach's dream. They work really hard, they're committed to the team, they care about their teammates. They're exactly the kind of Coyotes we want to have, so to have those veterans to surround our players coming up, I think it's a blessing, and I'm really fortunate."
Armstrong said Tourigny's attitude and coaching style reflect the kind of team they have been working on developing, and the influx of quality free agents this past offseason is proof of that.
"I think that's a credit to the organization, the ownership, the coaching staff, and the quality players that have come on board," Armstrong said. "Bear is a huge part of that, and I think he has helped to make it a place that people want to plant roots -- not because of the weather and the taxes, but for the culture and where the organization is moving."
Coyotes Head Coach André Tourigny (@BearTourigny) speaks to the media after signing a three-year contract extension with the club. pic.twitter.com/mzeJRUSruI
Tourigny's first season in Arizona coincided with a from-the-ground-up rebuild within the organization, and the 2021-22 season featured a plethora of veteran leadership to help immediately establish a winning culture. Players like Anton Stralman (938 career games), Loui Eriksson (1,050 career games), Andrew Ladd (1,001 career games, two Stanley Cups), Antoine Roussel (607 career games), and Jay Beagle (646 career games, one Stanley Cup) helped set the tone early on.
That group featured a number of current players that were 25-and-under at the time, including Schmaltz (25), Carcone (25), Karel Vejmelka (25), Crouse (24), Keller (23), Jack McBain (22), Hayton (21), Moser (21), and Maccelli (21), and Tourigny said the leadership that came from the crop of veteran players that season immediately set the tone.
"Look at the amount of players who have won the Stanley Cup who wore our jersey in the last two years, or players who played a lot of games in the NHL, had experience, had been through rebuilds, on championship teams, and just been through a lot of different situations," Tourigny said. "Those players have been around, the young ones try to soak it in and learn as much as possible from them, making sure they spread the knowledge around the group for everybody, and that's what the goal is."
Arizona improved by 23 points from 2021-22 to 2022-23, and
in the process. Moreover, the aforementioned core of current Coyotes players has the opportunity to continue to build that culture, a critical development step for young prospects such as Cooley and Dylan Guenther, among others.
That, coupled with a strong prospect pipeline that includes Josh Doan (2021 NHL Draft, 37th overall), Conor Geekie (2022 NHL Draft, 11th overall), Maveric Lamoureux (2022 NHL Draft, 29th overall), Dmitri Simashev (2023 NHL Draft, 6th overall), and Daniil But (2023 NHL Draft, 12th overall) -- among others -- gets Tourigny excited about what's in store for the future.
Just because there's excitement, though, doesn't mean he takes it lightly.
"It's like raising your own child. You don't have a second opportunity to raise them the right way," he said. "The value our team has, and the value our leaders preach, it's really important for us. We know we're not a championship team yet, but we believe with those players growing, and building the championship attitude and championship value, it's now, it's today, and in the future at some point, we'll become a championship team.
"The way we work today will help us then."
Tourigny's presence is now solidified in the desert for the foreseeable future, but he stressed the importance of leadership from the players, as opposed to just from him and his staff.
For anyone who's been paying attention to the past few seasons in The Valley, though, it's clear that the attitude in the locker room trickles down from the very top.
"I'm there to direct them, to manage them, and to make sure the message and make sure the leadership steers the boat in the right direction," Tourigny said. "I really believe the best coaching is coming from the players, and my job is to make sure we have a direction, we have a plan, we're organized, we have an attitude, and we have a culture, but the most important thing is the players have to drive all of that. We have to build that with the players.
"The players have to be on board, and they are the guys who will make that happen. It's my job to sell that to them, it's my job to hold them accountable, but I really believe the leadership has to come from the players."
