Dave Tippett leaving the Phoenix Coyotes?

I sure hope not. That would be a huge loss for the Coyotes who have one of the best if not the best General manager / Coach tandems in Don Maloney and Tippett. Many of the things done in Phoenix are unexplainable to teams across North America. To make it to the Western Conference Finals without even a dominant scorer is mind boggling. What would we do with a few stars? We have a lot of young talent and change is not needed in that direction. We all hoped for an owner and sellouts every game. Steps backward are not what the doctor ordered.

Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

So where will coach Tippett end up? Phoenix, Colorado, or elsewhere?

The Colorado Avalanche has expressed interest in retaining Dave’s services and they won’t be the only one. Tippett has taken a franchise from basement dwellers, bankruptcy, and possible relocation to being relevant, competitive, and possibly staying in Glendale long term.

Tippett, whose contract expires June 30, is in Europe, serving as an assistant coach for Canada at the World Championship. Phoenix needs to secure an owner and the first piece of business is to sign Tippett and Maloney to long term deals. Depending on the owner there should be many options for the 51 yr old Tippett. There will most likely be 4-5 teams who will toss their hat into the ring for Tippett. He is very defense oriented and methodical coach. He hasn’t had too much talent in Phoenix to work with. Again ownership solves a lot of that. Then Free Agents can be acquired.

Phoenix Coyotes Coach Tippett is truly a major reason why this franchise has had the success in the last few years and maybe even stayed in Arizona. Here is a story I wrote about him when I first started with www.howlinhockey.com

Dave Tippett, Head Coach, Phoenix Coyotes. Unsung Hero?