Fansided

Every current NHL franchise’s most beloved head coach

By Griffin Youngs

(Original Caption) Detroit Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman with the Stanley Cup on day of Red Wings celebratory parade in Detroit. (Photo by © Ralf-Finn Hestoft/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
(Original Caption) Detroit Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman with the Stanley Cup on day of Red Wings celebratory parade in Detroit. (Photo by © Ralf-Finn Hestoft/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 31
Next
ST. PAUL, MN – JANUARY 19: Arizona Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett looks on during the regular season match up between the Arizona Coyotes and the Minnesota Wild on January 19, 2017 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ST. PAUL, MN – JANUARY 19: Arizona Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett looks on during the regular season match up between the Arizona Coyotes and the Minnesota Wild on January 19, 2017 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Arizona Coyotes: Dave Tippett

The Coyotes have had little success in their existence since coming into existence in 1996, but where they have can be accredited to the next coach on the list, Dave Tippett.

Tippett was hired as the head coach of the then Phoenix Coyotes after six seasons with the Dallas Stars. With the Stars, Tippet missed the playoffs only once in 2009 and was let go the right after, allowing him to join a Coyotes team that hadn’t made the postseason since 2002. Ever since moving from Winnipeg in 1996 to take advantage of a stable American dollar and a sudden population boom in Phoenix, the Coyotes had never really secured any interest from fans. But that changed right away with Tippett at the helm.

The Coyotes made the playoff in their first year with Tippett as the coach in 2009-10, finishing the season with a franchise-record 107 points, also the first and only time the Coyotes have ever finished with 100 or more points in a season. They were beaten in seven games in the first round by the Detroit Red Wings. The next season did not live up to the previous one, as the team finished with 99 points and was beaten in the first round once again by the Detroit Red Wings, this time in a sweep.

The next season was the greatest success the franchise has ever had. The Coyotes made it back to the postseason with 97 points, but won the Pacific Division for the first time in franchise history. The Coyotes then played the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round, and after a crazy back-and-forth series where the first five games went to overtime, the Tippett-led Coyotes had won their first-ever playoff series in franchise history.

Phoenix didn’t stop there; in the next round they took down the Nashville Predators in five games to advance to the Western Conference finals, but were beaten by the Los Angeles Kings in five games to end the magical run.

Unfortunately, the Coyotes’ playoff hopes ended there, and the club would miss the playoffs for six consecutive seasons. Tippett and the Coyotes would mutually part ways after the 2016-17 season, and he has not joined a team in any way since.

Perhaps new head coach Rick Tocchet can surpass Tippett on an admittedly narrow list, but as it stands right now, Tippett is the shoo-in for most beloved coach in Coyotes history.

Home/NHL