Breaking: Alain Vigneault hired as NHL head coach

The veteran head coach is back behind the bench!

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 4 years ago
Breaking: Alain Vigneault hired as NHL head coach
Zuma Press

This just in, the Philadelphia Flyers have officially announced that they’ve hired Alain Vigneault as their next head coach.

Details to come.

Vigneault, of course, was relieved from his position with the New York Rangers last offseason. He had been the Rangers' head coach for five seasons and helped carry them to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final. Just three years prior he was behind the bench with the Vancouver Canucks in the 2011 Stanley Cup Final, as well. 

Read below for the full press release announcement courtesy of the Flyers' official website:

The Philadelphia Flyers have appointed Alain Vigneault as the 21st head coach in franchise history, signing him to a multi-year contract, according to Executive Vice President & General Manager Chuck Fletcher.
"We are extremely excited to have Alain join this franchise and lead our team behind the bench for many years to come," said Fletcher. "He brings a tremendous amount of success over an extended period of time that will prove valuable to our team to take the next steps in returning the winning culture to the Philadelphia Flyers organization." 
"It is an honor to be selected as the next head coach of the Flyers," said Vigneault. "The history they have established and the passionate fan base has made this a first-class franchise. I am excited to work with Chuck, the talented group of players and prospects coming up through the system, in order to return Philadelphia to the top of the NHL landscape."
Below are notes on the career of Vigneault:
ALAIN VIGNEAULT (Vihn-YOH)
AGE: 57 (5/14/1961)
BORN: Quebec City, Quebec
PREVIOUS TEAMS (Head Coach)
New York Rangers, 5 season (2013-14 through 2017-18)
Vancouver Canucks, 7 seasons (2006-07 through 2012-13)
Montreal Canadiens, 4 seasons (1997-98 through 2000-01)
* Currently serving as head coach for Team Canada at the 2019 IIHF World Championships in Slovakia.
* Spent parts of 16 years as a head coach in the NHL where he has coached over 1,200 regular season games (1,216) with a career win percentage of .588 and a 648-435-35-98 record.
* In addition, he has coached in 139 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, including trips to the Stanley Cup Final in 2011 with the Vancouver Canucks as Western Conference Champions, and again in 2014 with the New York Rangers as Eastern Conference Champions.
* His teams have won seven division championships and have made the playoffs 11 times, advancing past the first round on eight of those occasions.
* He has produced 100-point seasons for teams in eight of the last 11 full seasons as head coach, including nine seasons of 45 wins and three seasons with 50 wins.
* He won the Jack Adams Award as NHL Coach of the Year for the 2006-07 season when he led Vancouver to a 49-26-7 record and a 105 points... He has also been a finalist for the award a total of four times (1999-2000, 2006-07, 2010-11, 2014-15).
* He captured the Presidents' Trophy as regular season champions three times: 
2010-11 - Vancouver Canucks (54-19-9, 117 pts)
2011-12 - Vancouver Canucks (51-22-9, 111 pts)
2014-15 - New York Rangers (53-22-7, 113 pts)
* His 648 wins are T-12th all-time in NHL history and 6th among active coaches in the NHL. He is the Vancouver Canucks all-time winningest coach with 313 victories.
* As a player, Vigneault spent four years as a defenseman in the QMJHL with Hull and Trois-Rivieres. He appeared in 42 career games with the St. Louis Blues over parts of two seasons from 1981-83.