Fansided

NHL Power Rankings: Who is the best head coach in the league?

By Dave Stevenson

Jun 26, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; A general view of the NHL shield logo before the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 26, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; A general view of the NHL shield logo before the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
16 of 31
Next
Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports /

#16: Dave Tippett

Dave Tippett of the Arizona Coyotes has done a great job over the years in getting the most out of his players. Despite not having a great roster with the Coyotes in his first seven seasons with the team, he has taken them to the playoffs on three occasions and narrowly missed the playoffs in two others. Tippett has made the playoffs eight times in his 13 year career. He made the playoffs five times with the Dallas Stars before being fired after missing the playoffs in 2008-2009.

Tippett is one of the most analytically minded coaches in the NHL. At the same time, he doesn’t treat analytics as gospel. Rather, he treats it as a valuable tool that shouldn’t be ignored. Not many NHL coaches are analytically minded despite an uptick in analytics around the league, so that’s an asset that should help Tippett always be a coaching candidate even if the Coyotes fire him.

His future with the Coyotes is up in the air. There were rumors that he was going to be fired after last season but he kept his job. Working against him will be the Coyotes struggles in 2016 after exiting 2015 as a playoff team. In context, this was before the Sharks, Kings, and Ducks began playing like the teams that they were expected to be. Should Arizona decide to move on from Tippett, he is highly respected around the league and front offices will no doubt love that he is analytically minded.

Tippett is a head coach who consistently gets the most out of his roster.

Next: #15: Ken Hitchcock

Home/Anaheim Ducks