random thread: what’s your thoughts about Alain Vigneault and his coaching? think he’ll ever coach in the league again?
- Thread starter I3LI3
- Start date
As a Canuck fan I like him.
He earned my respect in (I think 2009), where we had lost something like 8 in a row and he was very close to being fired.
Everyone was asking him about changing the style, deployment, etc... But he responded, for the worst losing streak in Canuck history with "we are about to go on a winning streak. You will see."
And then they won something like 14 in a row and were great ever since. They put together runs of 20-2-2 regularly. Burrows with sedins was a revelation. Changed everyone's thoughts on what the sedins need as a linemate. Was magical
And then he had his favourites. Tanner glass is probably the most notorious. But there was andrew Alberts, Aaron rome, maxime lapierre, etc...
I'd take him back but he has a shelf life. More than a sutter, he's not a dick, but he gets over confident and plays favourites with grinders.
He earned my respect in (I think 2009), where we had lost something like 8 in a row and he was very close to being fired.
Everyone was asking him about changing the style, deployment, etc... But he responded, for the worst losing streak in Canuck history with "we are about to go on a winning streak. You will see."
And then they won something like 14 in a row and were great ever since. They put together runs of 20-2-2 regularly. Burrows with sedins was a revelation. Changed everyone's thoughts on what the sedins need as a linemate. Was magical
And then he had his favourites. Tanner glass is probably the most notorious. But there was andrew Alberts, Aaron rome, maxime lapierre, etc...
I'd take him back but he has a shelf life. More than a sutter, he's not a dick, but he gets over confident and plays favourites with grinders.
Love him if only for his reaction to Vern Fiddler’s Bieksa impression. Gold
- Oct 13, 2018
- 4,445
- 5,226
He had his favourites and he loved juggling lines (sometimes to a fault), however he was really good at playing the team he was given. When the Sedins, Kesler, and Burrows all broke out at the same time, he completely changed the team's style to an all out offensive juggernaut.
EpochLink
Canucks and Jets fan
He seems to have this reputation as a coach who is bad at developing youth (true, I guess) and good at taking established rosters deep (also true, I guess?).
He has a short shelf life, but then so do most NHL coaches.
I recall being infuriated by him at times when he was the Rangers coach. I bet Tanner Glass loves the guy though.
He has a short shelf life, but then so do most NHL coaches.
I recall being infuriated by him at times when he was the Rangers coach. I bet Tanner Glass loves the guy though.
Last edited:
JianYang
Registered User
- Sep 29, 2017
- 19,513
- 18,883
I found it odd that he allegedly didn't talk to Vincent damphousse when he was captain of the habs. But he was really young back then.
My main question with him today is if he's the right guy for the game today. He's in his 60s now, and been at it since the 90s.
My main question with him today is if he's the right guy for the game today. He's in his 60s now, and been at it since the 90s.
i couldn't stand the guy. i'll give him his due as far as coaching structure into a team and his teams def tend to outperform their roster in the regular season. but they are always marshmallow soft when it comes to sticking up for themselves and playing with any emotion. there's a reason he hasn't won a cup, there's really no excuse those van teams never won. they always bowed out to a team that just bullied them and they caved. the rangers were a team already mentally toughened by torts, but even they showed signs of av disease in the playoffs which got worse every year he was there.
to me he was just a guy who didn't appreciate or allow for the moments that build a roster into a team that can win a championship. you need a couple nights a year outta 82 where things spiral out of control with hits/fights/chaos and maybe you get pumped...but those nights mean more in april than any amount of wins inside a locker room. av's teams just never have that togetherness feel to them...its more like a bunch of cogs in a machine.
to me he was just a guy who didn't appreciate or allow for the moments that build a roster into a team that can win a championship. you need a couple nights a year outta 82 where things spiral out of control with hits/fights/chaos and maybe you get pumped...but those nights mean more in april than any amount of wins inside a locker room. av's teams just never have that togetherness feel to them...its more like a bunch of cogs in a machine.
It’s a miracle Chris Kreider wasn’t ruined by AV. Used to get benched for periods makes you wonder why he even dressed him.
Sykur
Registered User
- Apr 11, 2011
- 967
- 1,272
He might not be the right coach for this era.
The game is opening up now and having a premium offense is key, and AV can be more than a little conservative and defensive minded, almost to the point of stubbornness. Make no mistake his teams get results, just don't expect any fire wagon hockey.
The game is opening up now and having a premium offense is key, and AV can be more than a little conservative and defensive minded, almost to the point of stubbornness. Make no mistake his teams get results, just don't expect any fire wagon hockey.
One of the worst coaches I've ever had to endure. He came to NY and pushed every single right button in his first year. It looked like he had learned from what went wrong in Vancouver.
He slowly crept into old habits and refused to adjust his system (which was becoming antiquated) to an aging roster.
He doesn't deserve another HC gig. I can see him latching on somewhere as an assistant and being decent but thats really all he should be doing at this point.
He slowly crept into old habits and refused to adjust his system (which was becoming antiquated) to an aging roster.
He doesn't deserve another HC gig. I can see him latching on somewhere as an assistant and being decent but thats really all he should be doing at this point.
Dr Pepper
Registered User
Favourite Vigneault memory of mine is still his giggle fit after Fiddler's Bieksa impression. 
One of the nicest guys out there. We are members at the same golf course and met him and played with him when I was a little younger, he had to remind me he puts his pants on one leg at a time like I do. Always has the time to chit chat with everyone and always waves hello, he's not a fake that's for sure.
Just wanted to say I think he's a good man, but was always meh on him as a coach
Just wanted to say I think he's a good man, but was always meh on him as a coach
Limeyjim
Registered User
Alain Vigneault is an outstanding HC, what he faced while he was in Philadelphia was an aging top core, a decent goaltending prospect, and one of the worst defences in the entire NHL. He also was faced with a brutally poor GM, who was led around by a bunch of old men who've been attempting to bring back 1970's hockey in the 21st century. The team revolted against AV and his staff, just as they did to Peter Laviolette (another supreme HC of whom the Flyers players committed mutiny against).
Any team that has decent enough players on board should definitely look into hiring A.V.
Any team that has decent enough players on board should definitely look into hiring A.V.
AV probably has 1 last run in him. Veteran team. But yes, AV does tend to play some guys at the bottom of the roster for some strange reason.
He has a year left on his deal with Philly. But he knows the next opportunity is the last one.
Would not shock me to see him in Pitt (if new GM cleans house) or Wash.
Don’t think he’s getting a young team.
He has a year left on his deal with Philly. But he knows the next opportunity is the last one.
Would not shock me to see him in Pitt (if new GM cleans house) or Wash.
Don’t think he’s getting a young team.
Kimota
ROY DU NORD!!!
He's a great coach. When will people realise that there's nothing that can be done with this Flyers roster. Even Torto could do nothing with it. They need to blow it up and rebuild. I think AV would be great on a team that needs an extra jump to compete.
Didn't you guys go to the finals with him?
Didn't you guys go to the finals with him?
Might be a decent 1-2 year option for the Flames, he did get to 2 finals and had the Flyers looking menacing in 2020 but when he unravels its really bad
As for the Jackets I'd keep him away from that young roster
As for the Jackets I'd keep him away from that young roster
JaegerDice
The mark of my dignity shall scar thy DNA
- Dec 26, 2014
- 25,574
- 10,245
He’s a good coach. Biggest weakness seemed to be tactical adjustment over the course of a playoff series.
You could certainly do worse.
You could certainly do worse.
JojoTheWhale
"You should keep it." -- Striiker
- May 22, 2008
- 35,805
- 110,691
I'm a Flyers fan who also spent a decent portion of his Rangers tenure living in NYC. Went to many games, followed the team closely, and all of that.
I wouldn't wish that man on anyone. He's not the biggest fraud of a name-brand NHL coach I've ever seen, but unfortunately he is second. Zero self-awareness. Can't wait to explain how nothing is his fault. I would say he has zero adaptability, but unfortunately that would ignore the Bubble Playoffs where he got outclassed so badly by Claude Julien's staff that they went away from what had made them one of the hottest teams in hockey for a few months and tried to be the ca. 1995 Devils.
He's the Bryan Colangelo of the NHL in that it's all about winning the press conferences. And it would work on some of your fanbase, just as it did in NY and Philadelphia. Unfortunately, you'll quickly realize the only thing he's got for you is a dead cat bounce.
Remember what I said about only being the second biggest fraud in NHL coaching? When that smug little shit was hired by the Flyers, my reaction both on the Flyers board and to everyone I know was, "Ok, it's bad. But at least it's not Michel Therrien." Little did I know at the time that they had become close friends in Florida and are now attached at the hip. His big claim to fame as a Flyers assistant coach was moving Claude Giroux out of the spot that had made the Flyers' PP successful for the better part of a decade because it made them more unpredictable. Unfortunately it also made them not score. This decision still stood for ~years~.
I'll give you the TLDR;
Positives: Extremely strong pocket square game.
Negatives: Abandon hope.
Last edited:
LevelingSolo
Registered User
- Jan 15, 2012
- 4,739
- 6,428
Machinehead
HFNYR MVP
He thinks he's God.
He has some ability and if it works at first, great. If it doesn't work, he'll keep doing it because his system is perfect and the players just aren't executing. If it works and then the rest of the league adapts, he'll keep doing it because his system is perfect and the players just aren't executing.
He'll have players he likes that are either bad or start to go bad, and he'll keep them in the lineup (lots of coaches do that), but he'll heavily shelter them. His last couple of years in New York, Tanner Glass had the softest usage in the league. If the coach is just a buffoon and thinks some plug is good, I can live with that. That's just another Tuesday. By heavily sheltering them, he's conceding that they're terrible, but he'll keep them on the ice instead of admitting he was wrong to the media and at-large fanbase that aren't looking at usage.
The worst is what he does with players he doesn't like. Again, if he was just wrong about things, whatever, but he knows, and he'll hurt the team before he changes anything. David Quinn (who's not even a good coach) came here in 18-19 and started playing Zibanejad like three more minutes per game. And everyone on the main boards is like "wow, when did Zibanejad get really good?" and we're all like "two years ago! He's just actually playing now."
If your front office makes a move, and he's not crazy about it, he just won't play the guy. The Rangers traded for Keith Yandle and he played on the third pair. The Rangers traded for Eric Staal, and AV moved him to wing and played him on the third line. Again, I've seen lots of coaches be wrong about things, but I've never seen a coach just torpedo his own front office.
AV usually isn't wrong when he's doing stupid shit - he knows what he's doing. He's a saboteur. His top priority is him looking smart at all times and the team's success is secondary.
Believe it or not, I get over things. As the years pass, my attitude tends to be "eh..." After all these years, I still have no use for AV.
He has some ability and if it works at first, great. If it doesn't work, he'll keep doing it because his system is perfect and the players just aren't executing. If it works and then the rest of the league adapts, he'll keep doing it because his system is perfect and the players just aren't executing.
He'll have players he likes that are either bad or start to go bad, and he'll keep them in the lineup (lots of coaches do that), but he'll heavily shelter them. His last couple of years in New York, Tanner Glass had the softest usage in the league. If the coach is just a buffoon and thinks some plug is good, I can live with that. That's just another Tuesday. By heavily sheltering them, he's conceding that they're terrible, but he'll keep them on the ice instead of admitting he was wrong to the media and at-large fanbase that aren't looking at usage.
The worst is what he does with players he doesn't like. Again, if he was just wrong about things, whatever, but he knows, and he'll hurt the team before he changes anything. David Quinn (who's not even a good coach) came here in 18-19 and started playing Zibanejad like three more minutes per game. And everyone on the main boards is like "wow, when did Zibanejad get really good?" and we're all like "two years ago! He's just actually playing now."
If your front office makes a move, and he's not crazy about it, he just won't play the guy. The Rangers traded for Keith Yandle and he played on the third pair. The Rangers traded for Eric Staal, and AV moved him to wing and played him on the third line. Again, I've seen lots of coaches be wrong about things, but I've never seen a coach just torpedo his own front office.
AV usually isn't wrong when he's doing stupid shit - he knows what he's doing. He's a saboteur. His top priority is him looking smart at all times and the team's success is secondary.
Believe it or not, I get over things. As the years pass, my attitude tends to be "eh..." After all these years, I still have no use for AV.
This guy knows.
