Report: Andre Tourigny the front-runner to be Coyotes head coach

Longtime CHL and Canadian national junior team head coach Andre Tourigny is the leading candidate to be the next Arizona Coyotes bench boss, TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported on Tuesday's edition of "Insider Trading."

"He is the front-runner ... it doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to get done, but that's where that is right now," LeBrun said, adding that the process is in the "late stages."

The 47-year-old and the Coyotes have been in ongoing talks, according to Craig Morgan of AZCoyotesInsider.com. Tourigny reportedly went to Arizona to meet with the team's brass this week.

Rick Tocchet and the Coyotes agreed that he would step down in May after four seasons behind the Arizona bench. Tocchet helped the Coyotes make their first postseason appearance since 2012 when they advanced beyond the qualifying round in 2020.

Tourigny is the head coach of the OHL's Ottawa 67s, a role he's occupied since 2017-18. He previously led the QMJHL's Halifax Mooseheads in the season prior to that after guiding the Rimouski Oceanic for 11 campaigns from 2002-13.

He also has a wealth of international experience, most recently serving as one of Gerard Gallant's assistant coaches for Canada's World Championship squad that won gold in Latvia earlier this month. Tourigny led Canada to the silver medal at the 2021 World Junior Championship after helping the program win gold as an assistant coach in the previous tournament.

The Quebec-born bench boss also has some history in the NHL. He was an assistant with the Ottawa Senators in 2015-16 and held the same role with the Colorado Avalanche from 2013 to 2015.