The Arizona Coyotes have granted head coach Rick Tocchet a leave of absence from the team to deal with a family illness.

Assistant head coach John MacLean will take over the head coaching role while Tocchett is away from the team.

"Family comes first," general manager John Chayka said in a release. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Toc as he deals with this personal matter. It's important that he takes the time to be there with his family."

Tocchet, in his first season with the Coyotes, has a 22-35-11 record this year. He has a career coaching record of 75-104-17 in three seasons with the Coyotes and Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Coyotes host the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.