Former Calgary Flames' coach Jim Playfair hired as new Phoenix Coyotes' Associate Coach –NHL Updates
Former National Hockey League’s (NHL) player and Calgary Flames’ head coach, Jim Playfair, has been hired as the new Phoenix Coyotes’ associate coach which is a multiyear deal between him and the team management and will have him serve under head coach,
Dave Tippett.
Playfair has not been a long time player in the NHL and played professional hockey with Edmonton Oilers who drafted him in the first round of the 1982 NHL Entry Drafts along with Chicago Blackhawks.
The 47-year-old from Fort St. James, British Columbia, Canada, had been with Calgary Flames for over 11 years and became the team’s head coach in July 2006 when he was promoted from the assistant coach position.
Flames made it to the playoffs in the only season Playfair served as a head coach but was replaced by Mike Keenan nearly a year later.
Before accepting the Phoenix Coyotes’ position, Playfair was serving as the head coach of an American Hockey League (AHL) club, Abbotsford Heat, which is also an affiliate farm league of Calgary Flames.
Talking about his new position, Playfair expressed his interest in returning to the NHL and was excited at the opportunity.
"When they approached me, I felt the time was right", said Playfair, who signed a three-year contract. "I talked it over with (Flames president) Ken King and (general manager) Jay Feaster, and we all felt it was a very good opportunity".
Playfair reigned as a brilliant coach for the AHL team and took them very close to winning the Calder Cup’s playoffs (Minor league championship) but the team was eliminated by Hamilton Bulldogs in the North Division Finals.
Pllayfair certainly appreciates the offer from Phoenix Coyotes and is undoubtedly impressed by its way of playing.
"They're really clear on how they want their team to play, and it's really interiguing to me", he said. "It's a new challenge for me, to help a new team".
His tenure will begin with the new 2011-2012 season. Phoenix Coyotes has always been a great team in the regular season but with Playfair’s strategic thinking, it hopes to go deep in the playoffs next season.
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