IOWA WILD ANNOUNCES ALEX TANGUAY AS ASSISTANT COACH
Jul 23, 2019Iowa Wild General Manager Tom Kurvers announced today the American Hockey League (AHL) club has named Alex Tanguay (TAHNG-ay) as an assistant coach. Tanguay will join head coach Tim Army and fellow assistant coach Brett McLean behind the bench for the 2019-20 season.
Tanguay, 39 (11/21/79), brings a wealth of professional hockey experience to the Wild, having played 15 seasons in the NHL, skating with the Colorado Avalanche, Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning and Arizona Coyotes. In those 15 seasons, Tanguay recorded 863 points (283g, 580a) in 1088 regular season games and added 59 points (19g, 40a) in 98 Stanley Cup Playoff contests.
The Sainte-Justine, Quebec, native was selected 12th overall in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche. In his first six seasons with the team, Tanguay notched 400 points (137g, 263a) in 450 games. He made his NHL debut on Oct. 5, 1999, against the Nashville Predators and earned his first NHL point (an assist) that night. Tanguay scored the game-winning goal in Game 7 of the 2001 Stanley Cup Final, earning the Avalanche its second Stanley Cup in team history. As a member of the Avalanche, Tanguay was named to the 2002 YoungStars Game and the 2004 NHL All-Star Game.
Tanguay was traded to the Calgary Flames in 2006 and spent two seasons with the Flames, registering 139 points (40g, 99a) in 159 games. In the 2006-07 season, Tanguay set a career-high with 81 points (22g, 59a) in 81 games. His 59 assists were also a career-mark and on Feb. 2, 2007, against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Tanguay skated in his 500th NHL contest.
Tanguay spent a single season with the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning, respectively, before returning to the Flames as a free agent. In three additional seasons with the Flames, Tanguay added 145 points (46g, 99a) in 183 games, bringing his career total with Calgary to 284 points (86g, 198a) in 342 contests.
Following his second stint with the Flames, Tanguay then returned to Colorado for another three seasons with the Avalanche. In those three campaigns, Tanguay notched 88 points (30g, 58a) in 148 games. On March 4, 2015, Tanguay skated in his 1000th NHL game, becoming the second player in Avalanche history and the seventh player from the 1998 draft class to reach that milestone.
In total, Tanguay recorded 488 points (167g, 321a) in 598 games for the Avalanche. Tanguay ranks second in plus-minus (plus-130), seventh in points (488), eighth in assists (321), ninth in goals (167) and game-winning goals (28) and 10th in games played (598) all-time for Colorado.
Tanguay played 18 games with the Arizona Coyotes in 2015-16 after being traded from the Avalanche, logging 13 points (4g, 9a) with the team before retiring in 2017.
Prior to his prolific NHL career, Tanguay played three seasons with the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), where he recorded 214 points (101g, 113a) in 152 games. He was named to the QMJHL All-Rookie Team in 1996-97 and finished his junior career as the Moosehead’s all-time leader in goals, assists and points. His No. 18 was retired by the team in 2005.
Tanguay competed internationally for Canada in the 1998 World Junior Championships, where he posted three points (1g, 2a) in seven games.
Since retirement, Tanguay served as a guest analyst on NHL Network in December 2016 and was hired on full-time in February of 2017.
Tanguay and his wife, Helene, have two sons, Blake and Samuel, and one daughter, Maya.
The Iowa Wild 2019-20 regular season is presented by MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center and runs from October through April. For more information, please contact the Wild office by calling 515-564-8700 or by visiting www.iowawild.com.