Arizona Coyotes head coach André Tourigny says the rumours surrounding the team’s future in the desert have had an effect on the players’ play on the ice.
A new report emerged Wednesday suggesting that the NHL and Coyotes are preparing for the possibility of a move to Utah as soon as April 18.
Speaking to reporters for the first time since the latest developments, Tourigny didn’t hold back on how the uncertainty has impacted his club.
“The first time that rumour came, it was January 24, and that’s the day we started a 14-game losing streak, so we cannot pretend it did not affect our team,” Tourigny said prior to Wednesday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks. “Unfortunately, that had a huge impact on our season. We did not deal with it the right way at the time.”
On Jan. 24, Smith Entertainment Group (SEG) requested that the NHL initiate the process of bringing an NHL franchise to Utah.
At the time, Arizona was within striking decision to a playoff spot. They would go on to lose 14 consecutive games.
The Coyotes beat the Canucks 4-3 in overtime after Tourigny’s comments on Wednesday, with Logan Cooley scoring the game-winner.
The Coyotes forward was quite candid about his team’s effort despite the uncertainty the players face.
“It’s always tough when media’s going around saying we’re gonna be here, we’re gonna be there. We just need to stick together as a group and that’s what we did,” Cooley told reporters after the game. “There’s no quit in our team all year, whether that was when we were going through that losing streak (or) the arena news. It’s a pretty special group we have in there.”
Arizona will play two more games on the road before they play their regular-season finale at home against the Edmonton Oilers on April 17.