New coach, CEO last pieces in Coyotes’ major makeover
Rick Tocchet played three of his 18 NHL seasons with the Arizona Coyotes.
Steve Patterson worked three years at Arizona State University, the final two as athletic director.
The Coyotes’ two new leaders are back in the Valley of the Sun — Tocchet as coach, Patterson as president and CEO — tasked with finding consistency on the ice, a permanent home and reigniting a fan base.
“I think we have the right people in place, from putting a winning team on the ice to finding a stadium that’s going to make everyone proud,” Coyotes owner Andrew Barroway said Thursday.
The Coyotes’ ongoing desert saga has included bankruptcy, four seasons of being run by the NHL, a new ownership group, a dispute with the city of Glendale that led to the dissolution of a long-term lease agreement, and numerous roster re-imaginations. There also hasn’t been a lot of winning, which has led to waning fan support.
The organizational shift started in recent seasons, as the Coyotes skewed toward young, talented players and hired John Chayka, a 28-year-old analytics whiz who became the youngest GM in NHL history last year.
A slow rebuild turned into a rapid overhaul the past month, sparked by Barroway becoming the franchise’s sole owner.
Barroway quickly began reshaping the team with the aggressiveness that helped him become a successful hedge fund manager.
Arizona traded away goalie Mike Smith, parted ways with popular coach Dave Tippett and told captain Shane Doan he would not be offered a contract after 21 seasons.
Arizona also took steps to fill holes created by the departures while shoring up weak spots, trading for Stanley Cup-winning defenceman Niklas Hjalmarsson, top-line centre Derek Stepan and potential No. 1 goalie Antti Raanta.
Hiring Tocchet and Patterson was the final major piece.
Tocchet had a rare combination of skill and grit during his playing days, the type of player who could hit someone in the mouth and score a goal on the same shift.
He had a rough first go-round as a head coach, winning 53 combined games in two seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning, but became a viable head-coaching candidate again after winning the Stanley Cup twice as an assistant with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Tocchet will infuse the Coyotes with a dose of energy by playing into the strengths of Arizona’s talented young players with a fastpaced brand of hockey.
“This fan base wants, they want to see exciting hockey, they want to see some offence, some skill,” said Tocchet. “That’s the way you have to play to be successful in the league today.”
Patterson made his name as an arena guru during a 30-plus-year career that included stints in the NFL, NBA, AHL, minor league baseball and two major universities.
Patterson helped Houston regain an NFL team and land a Super Bowl while also leading the design, financing and construction of the Texans’ massive stadium. He played key roles in arena redesigns for the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets.