Dave Tippett, Coyotes Agree to New Contract: Latest Details, Comments, Reaction

The Arizona Coyotes announced Thursday they had agreed to terms on a new five-year contract with head coach Dave Tippett, who will also take on a new role of executive vice president of hockey operations.

A news release through the Coyotes' official website confirmed Tippett's fresh deal along with the addition of John Chayka as Arizona's new general manager.

Tippett just wrapped up his seventh season with the Coyotes, and the franchise evidently still has a lot of faith in him despite Arizona missing the playoffs for the fourth straight year.

Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo Sports weighed in on what Thursday's news meant for the direction of the Coyotes organization moving forward:

So not only is Tippett being trusted to lead the team from the bench, but he'll also be far more instrumental in bringing in the players he sees as the best fits for his system.

Per the news release, Tippett will be "involved in hockey personnel decisions." On the surface, it may well appear Tippett will wield greater power and influence in Arizona's front office shake-up than its new 26-year-old GM.

The following anecdote from ArizonaSports.com's Craig Morgan suggests it will be a united, symbiotic front between Chayka and Tippett, though:

For Chayka's part, he was at least part of the front office last season as assistant GM/analytics. Between his unique approach and the feel Tippett has for who will best suit his style of coaching, this is a bold, exciting direction for Arizona to go in.

"Some people you meet, you walk away, and you think, 'That guy is special,'" said Tippett of Chayka on Thursday, per Wyshynski.

Chayka praised Tippett in his remarks from Thursday as well, saying, per Sarah McLellan of AZCentral.com, "I'm excited to partner with Dave Tippett. ... People around the league that know Tip know we have a pretty special person here."

Tippett also said, per ArizonaCoyotesNews on Twitter, "I'm very excited to work with everybody in the group [and] about the future of the organization."

The 2010 Jack Adams Award winner has proved himself as a coach, pushing the Coyotes as far as the conference finals in his third year the helm.

Now Tippett will have a better chance to construct the roster how he sees fit in what should be a collaborative, refreshing change for a team that needed a tactical shift to reverse a recent trend of losing.