Coyotes head coach André Tourigny spoke out in defence of his players on Friday, amidst the uncertain status of his club’s future in Arizona and rumoured potential move to Salt Lake City.
“We looked pretty good (in Vancouver). We played hard, I think. I’m really proud of the way our players responded,” Tourigny said in Edmonton on Friday, ahead of his team’s game against the Oilers. “We close the loop as much as possible; we’re all in this together. (GM) Bill (Armstrong) will address the team today, so that’s where we stand.”
Reports came out ahead of Wednesday’s 4-3 OT win in Vancouver that the Coyotes were preparing for their possible relocation to Utah as soon as April 18. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the NHL is working as a broker between Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo and prospective Utah buyer Ryan Smith of Smith Entertainment Group.
Speaking on The Jeff Marek Show on Friday, Friedman said Tourigny has made his displeasure about the situation known publicly and privately.
“Judging by the way he’s talking, he feels like a lot of other people that this has been very poorly handled, and people deserve to have a much better idea of what’s really going on,” Friedman said.
Before assembled media on Friday, Tourigny took a more diplomatic tone.
“It’s a tough situation for everybody,” said the 49-year-old coach, who was hired in 2021. “It’s a tough situation for the league. It’s a tough situation for ownership … because there’s rumours everywhere.
“I assume everybody has stuff they can say, stuff they cannot say. It’s not my job to comment on that. It’s my job is just to make sure my team is ready to play. … The rest is out of my hands.
Friedman said that Tourigny has continued to push for more transparency within the organization.
“I think he basically asked, Where’s the information? And people deserve to have information, they deserve to know what’s going on,” Friedman told Marek. “I’ve heard that it’s been hugely appreciated that Tourigny both publicly and privately has made it very clear that he doesn’t believe people are being treated fairly here.”
Publicly, Tourigny is doing his best to keep things light.
“You know, my wife texted me today. She said, ‘You’ve coached since you were 30 years (old). We thought we’d seen everything.’ We were both wrong. So that’s something new.”