Ex-Canucks coach Alain Vigneault says he's retired

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Alain Vigneault, who coached the Vancouver Canucks to inside one win of the Stanley Cup in 2011, has retired.

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The longtime NHL coach informed Le Journal de Montréal on Thursday that the time has come for him to simply stay his life.

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“Once I signed my contract with the Flyers (in 2019), I informed these round me this may be my final,” he stated in French.

Vigneault is the winningest coach in Canucks historical past, successful 313 video games throughout his six seasons in cost in Vancouver.

He additionally coached the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers, totalling 1,363 profession video games. He’s nonetheless technically beneath contract with Philadelphia till subsequent 12 months. He’s being paid $5 million per season.

He’ll be 63 subsequent 12 months and it’s time to take pleasure in life, he stated.

“I’ve had profession. Hockey was good for me and my household. In some unspecified time in the future, you need to have a bit of enjoyable and that’s why I’m at in my life. I’m making an attempt to work on my golf, even when it’s not too good,” he stated, laughing on the finish.

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After retiring as a participant — he suited up for 42 NHL video games with the St. Louis Blues — he moved into teaching, first with the Trois-Rivières Draveurs on the age of 25. That was adopted by 5 seasons with the Hull Olympiques, then he moved throughout the Ottawa River and into the NHL, becoming a member of head coach Rick Bowness as an assistant coach for the Ottawa Senators.

He was named head coach of the Canadiens in 1997 and made the playoffs in his first 12 months. However after two seasons of battle — the Habs wouldn’t make the playoffs once more on his watch — he was fired early within the 2000-01 season.

He was out of teaching for 2 and a half seasons, then returned to junior with the Prince Edward Island Rocket. After two seasons, the Canucks employed him in 2005 to educate their AHL group, the Manitoba Moose.

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The Canucks missed the playoffs in 2006 and GM Dave Nonis promoted him to the NHL bench. Vigneault instantly directed the Canucks again to the playoffs, driving an unbelievable season by Roberto Luongo to the second spherical, the place the Canucks misplaced to the eventual Stanley Cup champions the Anaheim Geese.

The subsequent season, the Canucks missed the playoffs and Nonis was fired by new proprietor Francesco Aquilini. Mike Gillis was employed to interchange Nonis and the brand new GM determined to stay with Vigneault.

“My time with him was wonderful,” stated Gillis on Thursday. “Not solely a really shiny man however arduous working and prepared to proceed to study. And alter and adapt. No shock that he had such a profitable profession.

“Once I bought to Vancouver, the expectation was that he could be fired,” Gillis stated. However he simply needed to study his new coach.

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“I discovered that he was fully ready to work at using the talent units of the gamers that had been there. He did it brilliantly.”

Gillis and Vigneault made a daring choice collectively: they named Luongo captain.

Luongo couldn’t put on a C on the ice, however he was the lead face of the group for 2 seasons and Luongo has lengthy since stated that being the captain was a formative expertise, even when it was troublesome on the time.

“He had the balls to call a goaltender captain. He didn’t care about what individuals would assume if he believed in it,” Luongo informed Postmedia Thursday.

The 2 grew to become a stable partnership, rising the Canucks into a real cup contender on their watch. Vigneault’s intuition as a coach at all times leaned towards a defensive recreation however beneath his eye the Canucks grew to become one of many NHL’s main offences, the Sedins guiding the best way into the present possession-focused future.

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The Canucks got here wanting the Stanley Cup however they gained back-to-back President’s Trophies because the NHL’s finest common season group in 2011 and 2012. However two-straight playoff upsets in 2012 (to the surging Los Angeles Kings, who went on to win the Stanley Cup) and in 2013 (to the San Jose Sharks) spelled the tip of Vigneault in Vancouver.

After being fired by the Canucks in 2013, Vigneault took over as Rangers head coach, swapping spots with John Tortorella, who had been dismissed by New York however then employed by Vancouver. He discovered rapid success with the Rangers, guiding them to their first Stanley Cup Ultimate in 20 years — their earlier look being their 1994 cup win over the Canucks — however the Rangers misplaced to the Kings.

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In 2014-15, Vigneault’s Rangers set a franchise file for factors in a season and gained the President’s Trophy, Vigneault’s third regular-season title.

He coached New York for 3 extra seasons however the Rangers by no means reached the identical heights and he was fired after the 2017-18 season, the primary time he’d missed the playoffs since 2008 with the Canucks.

The Flyers employed him a 12 months later and led them to the second spherical within the 2019-20 bubble playoffs, however missed the playoffs in 2021. After a mediocre begin to the 2021-22 season, he was fired in December, changed on an interim foundation by present Canucks assistant Mike Yeo.

Oddly sufficient, Tortorella took over as everlasting Flyers coach the following summer time.

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