Arizona Coyotes hire Rick Tocchet as new head coach

Less than a month removed from the mutual parting of ways between the Coyotes and former head coach Dave Tippett, Arizona has found a suitable replacement. On Tuesday, Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports confirmed that Penguins assistant coach Rick Tocchet will fill the role. The Coyotes themselves officially announced the hiring moments later.

The news was first thrown out into the open by TSN’s Darren Dreger earlier in July before Morgan confirmed the hiring with league sources. Tocchet’s contract with the team will be a four-year deal, per Elliotte Friedman‏.

Here’s what Arizona general manager John Chayka had to say about the signing, per the Coyotes website:

“We are very pleased to name Rick as our new head coach. Rick is an excellent coach and a proven winner. While with the Penguins, he won a Stanley Cup as a player and two cups as a coach. He’s experienced, knowledgeable and is a great leader and communicator. He’s also a former Coyotes player and assistant coach and the perfect fit for us. We’re thrilled to have him re-join our organization.”

Tocchet becomes the seventh head coach in Coyotes’ history after Tippett’s eight-year tenure in the desert. The former Penguins assistant coach was rumored to be a candidate alongside Phil Housley for the vacant Buffalo head coach job, but the latter just recently took the position.

The 53-year-old played for the Coyotes from 1997-2000 and was an assistant coach in 2005 under Wayne Gretzky. The Coyotes job is Tocchet’s second head coaching job in his career, after he was the boss behind the Lightning bench from 2008-2010 with a record of 53-69-26. Tocchet was then hired by the Penguins as an assistant coach in 2014 and has had a clear hand in helping bring a pair of Stanley Cups to the city with his work on Pittsburgh’s power play.

Tocchet also had a role in helping Phil Kessel break out in Pittsburgh, and the winger called the 53-year-old his “favorite assistant coach” in the NHL.