Vigneault played as a defenceman in the QMJHL for four seasons, beginning in 1977–78 with the Hull Olympiques. He recorded 11 goals and 46 points over 59 games as a rookie, before improving to 13 goals and 54 points over 72 games to rank fifth in team scoring the following season. In his third QMJHL season, Vigneault was traded from Hull to the Trois Rivieres Draveurs. Between the two teams, he accumulated a junior career-high 64 points (11 goals and 53 assists) over 63 games. The following season, his fourth and final in the QMJHL, he tallied seven goals and 62 points over 67 games, before adding four goals and ten points in 19 playoff games. His efforts helped the Draveurs to the QMJHL Finals, where they were defeated four-games-to-one by the Cornwall Royals.
Following his QMJHL career, Vigneault was selected in the eighth round, 167th overall, by the St. Louis Blues in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft. He joined the Blues organization during the 1981-82 season where he appeared in 14 games for the club; tallying 1 goal and 2 assists. The remainder of his rookie season was spent in the minor league with the Blues' Central Hockey League (CHL) affiliate, the Salt Lake Golden Eagles. Vigneault was called up to the Blues again the following season where he recorded a goal and three assists in 28 regular season appearances, as well as one assist in four in the playoffs games, while splitting time with the Eagles. The 1983 playoffs were Vigneault's final appearances as a player in the NHL, as he finished his career the following season splitting time between the Maine Mariners of the AHL and the Montana Magic in the CHL.
Coaching career
QMJHL and Ottawa Senators
Vigneault began his coaching career at the age of 25 in 1986–87, one season after his retirement as a player. He began in the QMJHL, coaching one season for the Trois-Rivières Draveurs and five for the Hull Olympiques, the same two teams he played junior hockey for. He coached the Olympiques to personal QMJHL regular season bests in 1987–88 with a 43–23–4 record and a playoff championship.[2]
In the 1992–93 season, Vigneault got his first break in the National Hockey League (NHL) as an assistant coach with the expansion Ottawa Senators. After 3+1⁄2 years in that position, the Senators' assistant coaches were dismissed during the 1995–96 season and Vigneault returned to the QMJHL to coach the Beauport Harfangs. He led the team to his second QMJHL Finals appearance, where they were defeated by the Granby Prédateurs.
Montreal Canadiens
After a full season with the Harfangs in 1996–97, Vigneault began his second stint in the NHL and his first as a head coach, with the Montreal Canadiens. Becoming the 20th coach in the history of the Original Six team, he replaced Mario Tremblay. After winning the Stanley Cup in 1993, the team had not advanced past the first round of the playoffs in the four years since. In his first season with the Canadiens, he coached the team to a regular season record of 37 wins, 32 losses and 13 ties to rank fourth in the Northeast Division. They then advanced to the second round with a four-games-to-two series victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins, before being swept in four games by the Buffalo Sabres. The following season, however, the Canadiens failed to make the playoffs with a 32–39–11 record.
During his third season with the Canadiens in 1999–2000, he returned to above-.500, despite numerous long-term injuries to key players, just narrowly missing a post-season berth. For his efforts, despite his team failing to make the playoffs for a second-straight year, he was nominated for the Jack Adams Award as the League's coach of the year, ultimately losing the award to Joel Quenneville of the St. Louis Blues. After the Canadiens continued to struggle the following season, Vigneault was fired midway through the campaign and replaced by Michel Therrien.
Following his tenure with the Canadiens, he spent 2+1⁄2 years inactive as a coach. In 2003–04, he was hired to coach the Prince Edward Island Rocket. That season, he coached them to a 40–19–5 record and a second-round appearance in the playoff.
Vancouver Canucks
After another season with the Rocket, in which the team finished out of the playoffs, Vigneault was hired by the Vancouver Canucks organization to coach their minor-league affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, of the American Hockey League (AHL). Following a successful season in Manitoba, in which the Moose earned 100 points and reached the second round of the playoffs, he was chosen to replace Marc Crawford as the Canucks' head coach ahead of the 2006–07 season. The Canucks had failed to qualify for the playoffs in Crawford's last season with the club and were seen to have underperformed after being considered Stanley Cup contenders after the 2004–05 NHL lockout. In replacing Crawford, who was the Canucks' record holder for all-time wins by a coach, Vigneault became the 16th coach in team history. While Crawford was known for coaching the team under an offence-first mentality, Vigneault had a defensive-minded reputation at the time of his hiring. In addition to letting Crawford go, General Manager Dave Nonis retooled the team considerably. Key offensive players Ed Jovanovski and Todd Bertuzzi departed as stay-at-home defencemanWillie Mitchell and star goaltender Roberto Luongo were brought in.
In his first season as head coach of the Canucks, Vigneault coached them to a franchise record 49 wins, eclipsing the 46-win season recorded under Pat Quinn in 1992–93. The team won the regular season Northwest Division title and finished third in the West altogether. The Canucks defeated the Dallas Stars in seven games in the first round of the 2007 playoffs before being eliminated in the second round in five games by the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Anaheim Ducks. As a result of the successful 2006–07 campaign, Vigneault received his second Jack Adams Award nomination and beat out Lindy Ruff of the Buffalo Sabres and Michel Therrien of the Pittsburgh Penguins in voting to win the coach of the year on June 14, 2007.
The Canucks failed to qualify for the playoffs in 2008 and GM Dave Nonis was fired. After Nonis' successor, Mike Gillis, was brought in, it was speculated whether or not he would retain Vigneault.[3][4] After several meetings with Gillis, Vigneault was re-signed to a one-year contract extension to keep him in Vancouver to the 2009–10 season. Vigneault's assistant coaches Barry Smith and Mike Kelly, inherited from Crawford's coaching staff, were both fired.[5]
With the departure of captain Markus Näslund in the 2008 off-season, Vigneault and team management controversially selected Roberto Luongo as the Canucks' new captain, despite NHL rules forbidding goaltenders to be chosen for the position. Luongo became the first goaltender to captain an NHL team in 60 years, though he was not permitted to wear the captain's "C" on his jersey, nor was he permitted to perform the traditional on-ice duties of a captain in the NHL (such as speaking to the referees on behalf of the coach).[6] Under new leadership and management, Vigneault and the Canucks returned to the post-season and won their second Northwest Division title in three years. They swept the sixth-seeded St. Louis Blues in the first round of the 2009 playoffs but were once again defeated in the second round, however; this time by the fourth-seeded Chicago Blackhawks in six games.
About to enter the final year of his contract in 2009–10, Vigneault was signed to a three-year extension in September 2009.[7] The Canucks matched their franchise-best 49 wins from Vigneault's first season and repeated as Northwest Division champions and as the third seed in the West for the second consecutive season and third time in four seasons. The Canucks defeated the Los Angeles Kings in six games the first round of the 2010 playoffs before being eliminated by the Chicago Blackhawks in the second round in six games for the second consecutive year.
After finishing near the top of their conference for the majority of Vigneault's tenure with the team up to the 2009–10 season, the Canucks won their first-ever Presidents' Trophy as the league's best regular season team after a franchise year of 54 wins and 117 points for the 2010–11 season. In the 2011 playoffs, they advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1994, but lost the series in seven games to the Boston Bruins, one win short from winning the Stanley Cup and giving up a 3–2 series lead in the process. Vigneault earned his third nomination for the Jack Adams Award, but lost to Dan Bylsma of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The 2011–12 season saw the Canucks repeat as the Presidents' Trophy winners. During the season on November 23, 2011, Vigneault became the most winning coach in Canucks history with his 247th victory with the team, a 3–0 shutout win against the Colorado Avalanche. At 427 games, it took him 97 fewer contests than his predecessor, Marc Crawford, to set the mark. Though the league's best regular season team once more in 2011–12, the Canucks were eliminated from the 2012 playoffs in the first round; losing in five games to the eventual champion, the eighth-seeded Los Angeles Kings.[8]
After finishing the lockout-shortened 2012–13 campaign as the Northwest Division champions for the fifth straight season and the third seed in the Western Conference altogether, the Canucks were swept in the first round of the 2013 playoffs by the sixth-seeded San Jose Sharks. The Canucks fired Vigneault along with assistant coaches Rick Bowness and Newell Brown on May 22, 2013, 15 days after the Canucks were defeated by the Sharks.[9]
New York Rangers
On June 21, 2013, the New York Rangers hired Vigneault to be their 34th head coach, replacing John Tortorella, who coincidentally was hired as Vigneault's replacement for the Vancouver Canucks only for Tortorella to get fired the following off-season after one season with the club. Vigneault signed a five-year, $10 million contract with the Rangers.[10] Vigneault's Rangers initially struggled in the first half of the 2013–14 campaign, but finished very strong. The Rangers finished second in the Metropolitan Division and fifth in the East, qualifying for the post-season and making it to the team's first Stanley Cup Finals since they defeated the Vancouver Canucks in the 1993–94 season. The team, however, lost to the Los Angeles Kings in five games in the Stanley Cup Finals.
On February 14, 2015, Vigneault collected his 500th career win, in a 5–1 win over the Arizona Coyotes, becoming the 21st head coach in NHL history to reach the mark.[11] The 2014–15 season, Vigneault's second season with the team ended with the Rangers setting a franchise record with 113 points in the regular season, winning the NHL's Presidents' Trophy for the first time since the Stanley Cup-winning 1993–94 season.[12] Vigneault was named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award for the fourth time in his career, which eventually given to Bob Hartley of the Calgary Flames.[13] In the first round of the 2015 playoffs, the Rangers knocked out the eighth-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins in five games, winning the fifth and clinching game on an overtime winner from Carl Hagelin.[14] It was the earliest Sidney Crosby and the Penguins had been eliminated from the playoffs since his sophomore season in 2006–07. In the semi-finals the Rangers found themselves facing a familiar foe in Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals, the fifth meeting between the two franchises since 2009 (each team had won two). The Rangers fell behind 3–1 in the series and were down 1–0 in game five, a mere 101 seconds from elimination, before Chris Kreider broke the shutout. In overtime team captain Ryan McDonagh scored the game winner to send the series back to Washington. In game six Kreider once again sparked the team, scoring in the first minute and final second of the first period as the Rangers withstood a late rally by the Capitals to win 4–3 and force a game 7 at Madison Square Garden. Anticipation was extremely high for this game as prices for a seat reached record prices.[15] Ovechkin opened the scoring on a high glove wrist shot in the first period but Rangers' rookie Kevin Hayes evened the score on the power play. In the first Game 7 overtime at Madison Square Garden since the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals, Derek Stepan scored the game-winning goal against the fourth-seeded Capitals, sending the Rangers to their second straight appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals and third in four seasons, where they would eventually be eliminated in seven games by the third-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning, one win short from a second consecutive appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals.
On December 11, 2015, Vigneault coached his 1,000th NHL game as a head coach.[16]
On April 7, 2018, the Rangers fired Vigneault after the team finished the 2017–18 season with a 34–39–9 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2010.[17][18]
Philadelphia Flyers
On April 15, 2019, the Philadelphia Flyers hired Vigneault as their head coach.[19] In his first season with the Flyers, he led the club to a 41–21–7 record and a playoff appearance, before the season was paused as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In his first season with the Flyers, Vigneault was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award,[20] coming in second in final voting to the Boston Bruins' Bruce Cassidy.[21]
On February 28, 2021, Vigneault won his 700th career game as a head coach, becoming the ninth coach in NHL history to reach the milestone.[22]
On December 6, the Flyers fired Vigneault following a 7–1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The loss extended their losing streak to eight games amidst falling to an 8–10–4 record to begin the 2021–22 season after missing the playoffs in the previous season.[23][24]
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