VANCOUVER – Vancouver Canucks coach Alain Vigneault has paid the price for his team’s early exit from the playoffs.
The club fired Vigneault and assistants Rick Bowness and Newell Browne on Wednesday, as the expected fallout from the Canucks’ first-round sweep at the hands of the San Jose Sharks finally came to pass.
The Canucks’ all-time leader in coaching wins, Vigneault led the club to six Northwest Division titles, two Presidents’ Trophy titles and an appearance in the 2011 Stanley Cup final.
But Vancouver was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in the last two seasons despite having home-ice advantage, including the four-game loss to the Sharks. It was the first time in 12 years that the Canucks were swept in the post-season.
Vigneault leaves with a 313-170-57 regular-season record over seven seasons in Vancouver.
“We have made the very difficult decision to relieve Alain Vigneault, Rick Bowness and Newell Brown of their coaching duties today,” Canucks president and general manager Mike Gillis said in a release. “Alain, Rick and Newell worked tirelessly to lead this team to great on-ice success. I am personally grateful to each of them and their families for their commitment to the Canucks and the city of Vancouver and wish them continued success in future.”
It’s a bitter end to a largely positive tenure in Vancouver for Vigneault, who skilfully guided his team through the demands of a lockout-shortened season in 2012-13. He kept a difficult goaltending situation from becoming a major distraction and secured home-ice advantage in the playoffs for the fifth straight season.
But in the end, he could not coax more goals out of secondary offensive players that displayed plenty of heart but limited scoring skill.
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Vigneault, a 52-year-old Quebec City native, leaves after transforming the Canucks from a struggling club into a perennial contender. He was also recognized for his role in turning the Canucks around when he was awarded the 2007 Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s coach of the year.
When he arrived in 2006-07 after a season with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, the Canucks were looking to regroup after missing the playoffs. He was also looking to prove himself after being fired from his first NHL head-coaching job with the Montreal Canadiens in 2000-01.
In his first season, he guided the Canucks to a division title and a spot in the second round of the playoffs before they were eliminated by the Anaheim Ducks in five games — with four decided by one goal.
The next season, he guided the Canucks to their third Stanley Cup final berth in franchise history. They took a 2-0 series lead at home but eventually lost in seven games to the Bruins. The Game 7 loss at home sparked a riot in city streets.
The final foreshadowed a shift in goaltending that would become a headache for Vigneault. Cory Schneider periodically replaced struggling starting netminder Roberto Luongo in the series. Until then, Luongo had enjoyed hero status in Vancouver with his No. 1 designation never in doubt.
Vigneault managed to prevent any potential rifts between Luongo and Schneider and limited distractions to the team as the goalies became close friends.
He answered endless questions about his goaltenders, especially after Schneider displaced Luongo in the first round of the 2011-12 playoffs as the Canucks lost in five games to the Los Angeles Kings.
The uncomfortable situation was supposed to be resolved after Luongo agreed to waive his no-trade clause prior to the 2012-13 season, but Gillis was not able to get the deal he wanted prior to a bitter lockout that shortened the regular season to 48 games.
When play finally resumed, the Canucks struggled at times the demanding schedule and battled numerous injuries. But they managed to pull away from the Minnesota Wild in the race for the Northwest crown and home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Vigneault guided his club to eight wins in its last nine home games, including a 3-1 victory over first-place Chicago that secured the Canucks’ fifth straight Northwest title.
But Schneider was injured in the Chicago game and didn’t come back until after the first two games of the San Jose series.
Luongo was solid in the first two losses in Vancouver, but Vigneault went with Schneider when the series switched to San Jose.
Schneider struggled in the third period of Game 3, allowing three quick goals, and mishandled the decisive shot in Game 4 in overtime before Patrick Marleau poked home the loose puck for the series-clinching goal.
Along with the goaltending situation, Vancouver has failed in recent years to develop its draft picks into reliable NHL players. Whether that is a failing of the coach or the general manager is up for debate.
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