The Coyotes will interview Blues assistant coach Mike Van Ryn for their vacant head-coaching position on Monday, reports Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider. That spot was opened up at the end of the season when Rick Tocchet’s contract was not renewed after four years behind the bench.
The 42-year-old played in parts of eight injury-plagued NHL seasons with the Blues, Panthers and Maple Leafs before retiring at the age of 31 to start his coaching career. Since then, he has been a head coach in the OHL and AHL as well as an assistant in the OHL and NHL.
Van Ryn spent two years with Arizona in 2016-17 and 2017-18 as a development coach and head coach with AHL Tucson (where he coached a handful of current Coyotes including Conor Garland and Lawson Crouse), so he has some familiarity with the organization. From there, he went to the St. Louis Blues, joining their bench as an assistant coach in 2018. GM Bill Armstrong was with the Blues before joining the Coyotes, so he would be quite familiar with Van Ryn as well; their tenures overlapped for two seasons.
The Coyotes aren't in a spot where they’re hoping to become contenders right away, so a pricey veteran bench boss probably isn’t what Armstrong is looking for. Most of their core group is still fairly young, so a younger coach may be the better way to go. While Van Ryn hasn’t garnered much head-coaching consideration elsewhere, this fit could be a good one for both sides.
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