Dan Bickley

azcentral sports

Dave Tippett is a hands-on guy. He fixes motorcycles and hockey teams. Yet he has never touched the Stanley Cup.

If there’s any justice in hockey, he will lift the chalice before his ice time expires.

“I’ve been in the vicinity a few times,” Tippett said. “I had some friends win it. I’ve been at some parties when it’s been there. I’ve been to the Hockey Hall of Fame a few times and saw it there. Put it this way: I know where it’s at.”

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He should. He’s been chasing it for a lifetime.

The Coyotes head coach is currently wrapping up his seventh season with the Coyotes, once again performing perennial magic tricks with very little fanfare. He has a decided disadvantage against most every opponent he faces. He’s been handed organizational chaos, half-empty arenas and low-budget rosters. He rarely fails to churn out winning hockey teams.

His commitment to the Coyotes is as important as the loyalty of their captain, Shane Doan.

“I’m a big believer that you get rewarded for your work, for what you put into it,” Tippett said. “Hopefully your work is moving things forward, and you reap the benefits at the end. You put the work in, you stay with it, and you have a chance to be successful. That’s my whole approach. Not just to the Arizona Coyotes. But in life.”

Tippett will not get the trophy this season. Even with return of starting goalie Mike Smith, he concedes that making the playoffs is “possible, but not realistic.” Yet his mood is vastly improved from a year ago, a 2014-15 season when General Manager Don Maloney admitted to tanking over the back half of the season.

Imagine the strain that must have put on their relationship.

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This season, the Coyotes have freshened the air space, turning a significant corner. They’ve restored the hope of winning in the near future. Their farm system is loaded with talent. They’re exploring a return to the East Valley, possibly sharing a facility with Arizona State’s hockey program.

Tippett knows potential can be a tricky word. He notes “there is a lot of prospecting going on in gold mines, and nobody finds anything.” But like everyone else, he senses the long years in obscurity might be coming to an end.

“This year is a start,” Tippett said. “The main goal at the start of the season was to make sure we grow. The young players have brought energy. The ownership group seems to have settled in. We’re developing a core group of players, and that’s what championship teams need.

“Instead of grabbing whatever we can, we’re building a competitive team the right way, with guys that are homegrown, home-developed and this is their team. Look at the teams that have been successful recently. Chicago manipulates the (salary) cap, but their core group stays the same. We haven’t had the core, but we’re building one now.”

After spending 11 seasons as a NHL player, Tippett reached a significant milestone earlier in the season. He is one of 25 men to coach over 1,000 games. After his stellar work during the dark times, his job status is almost bulletproof. He has transcended the normal pink-slip pressure that affects most in the coaching fraternity.

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His standing in the organization is similar to Gregg Popovich in San Antonio and Bill Belichick in New England, even though Tippett doesn’t have any jewelry. That is remarkable, but not surprising.

Tippett is an innovator. He was practicing analytics in 1995, only with pencils and notebooks, charting and ranking players with his own mathematical system. He’s a troubleshooter. He likes to spot a curve and get ahead of it. His motto is simple: “If it’s not broke, you’re not looking hard enough.”

Through all the years, his voice and message remain fresh, unscathed by the seasons of dysfunction. That’s no small feat in Arizona.

“I’m a pretty simple guy,” Tippett said. “I’m not hard to read. A big part of my approach is to not get too high, and not get too low. And when all else fails, you put your head down and go back to work. But I’m always trying to evolve.”

Tippett is one of our finest, and one of the best coaches to never win a championship ring. Here’s hoping he shows up for work in the near future, and see the Stanley Cup staring back at him.

This time, he will be free to touch.

Bickley at dan.bickley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8253. Follow him at twitter.com/danbickley. Listen to “Bickley and Marotta,” weekdays from 12-2 p.m. on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.