Coyotes ‘part ways’ with head coach Dave Tippett after 8 seasons

The rebuilding Arizona Coyotes lost the face of their franchise to start the week. To end it, they’re parting ways with head coach Dave Tippett.

The surprising announcement came late Thursday evening, less than 24 hours before the NHL entry draft in Chicago.

This seems like the latest in what could be a series of shake-ups from Andrew Barroway, who became sole owner of the Coyotes last week.

Both Barroway and Tippett released statements on the Coyotes’ website.

“On behalf of the entire Coyotes organization, I would like to sincerely thank Tip for all of his hard work and the many contributions he made to our organization,” said Barroway. “Tip is a man of high character and we are very grateful for his leadership during his tenure as our head coach. Ultimately, we have some philosophical differences on how to build our team. Therefore, we mutually agreed that it is in everyone’s best interest to have a coaching change in order to move our franchise forward.”

“After some thoughtful discussions with Andy, we both agreed that it was best for me to move on,” said Tippett. “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Coyotes and wish Andy and the entire organization all the best in the future.”

Tippett’s firing makes the Blackhawks the only NHL team (excluding the expansion Golden Knights) not to fire at least one head coach since the NHL lockout.

Tippett joined the then-Phoenix Coyotes in the 2009-10 season after a highly successful six-year run with the Dallas Stars. In eight seasons with the Coyotes, Tippett went 282-257-83. Despite making the playoffs in his first three years, the Coyotes haven’t been back in the last five.

Earlier this week, the Coyotes decided not to re-sign Shane Doan, who had captained the team for 14 seasons.