Alain Vigneault's Extension In Vancouver Presumably Completed In The Next Two Weeks

[Canuck Surfer]

Yeah, I tend to agree mistakes were made with Hodgson. But Grabner was waived by a GM who won a Stanley Cup only a year or so before. Hard to blaim AV there.

On the balance; Bieksa, Edler, Burrows, Kesler, Hansen etc all arrived, the Twins went from average Top 6 players to superstars.

Development as a whole has been good.

Lol, Ya Hodgson and Grabner have developed very well for us.

[CaNuCkSLoUiE23]

Please can we stop with this myth.

Look at our team now after they've developed under AV.

[It's Bieksa's Fault]

Hodgson: Wasn't getting enough ice time because AV didn't trust him. Got benched in crucial 3rd periods. That's why he wanted to leave.

Grabner: Played some games, put up decent numbers, but was demoted to the 4th line. Traded.

Tanev: Starting to gain trust under AV, but is still overlooked. He would rather have Rome in.

[Canucks_fo_life]

Well, thats that, not gonna see a Stanley Cup in Vancouver again unless its the other team winning it, AV is a garbage coach who wastes talent and ruins young players. He plays favorites to set an example, so tired of him. He shouldn't even be in the NHL, he's an AHL coach at best

[DeNiro]

LOL at all the people that think they know what's best for this team. Sorry to break it to you guys, but changing your coach doesn't guarantee success, and the fact is there isn't any better coaches available out there.

People actually think Mark Crawford or Craig MacTavish are better coaches than AV? There's a reason why no one has offered them a job.

AV has not been the problem contrary to popular belief. The Sedins not stepping up when we need them most, Kesler getting injured and having invisible linemates, the D-core being injured and falling apart, and inconsistent goaltending from Luongo. Until these things are fixed, we're going to have a tough time winning with any coach.

Stop blaming the coach for the players shortcomings.

[Canucks_fo_life]

LOL at all the people that think they know what's best for this team. Sorry to break it to you guys, but changing your coach doesn't guarantee success, and the fact is there isn't any better coaches available out there.

People actually think Mark Crawford or Craig MacTavish are better coaches than AV? There's a reason why no one has offered them a job.

AV has not been the problem contrary to popular belief. The Sedins not stepping up when we need them most, Kesler getting injured and having invisible linemates, the D-core being injured and falling apart, and inconsistent goaltending from Luongo. Until these things are fixed, we're going to have a tough time winning with any coach.

Stop blaming the coach for the players shortcomings.

[DeNiro]

Dale Hunter, MacT, or Marc Crawford...any of those 3 will do.

Oh, if anyone was looking forward to seeing Schroeder, Kassian, Jensen and Connauton get top line minutes, they can forget about it.

[ccc44]

Here are some coaches out there that are possible replacements for Dale Hunter as well as for Vancouver if you aren't a fan of AV or you think there are better coaches out there:

BOB HARTLEY

Coached the Avs to the Cup in 2000-01; hasn't been behind an NHL bench since the Thrashers fired him after six games in 2007-08. Signed a two-year contract in March of last year with the Swiss league’s ZSC Lions and promptly won the title. “The man wins championships,” former Canucks forward and current ZSC Lions star Jeff Tambellini told ESPN.

MICHEL THERRIEN

Currently working as a scout for Minnesota. Fired as coach of the Penguins in February 2009 with the team struggling to stay in playoff contention less than a year after losing to Detroit in the Cup finals. Doesn’t like when his players play “soff.”

MARC CRAWFORD

Won a Cup as coach of the Avalanche in 1995-96 with Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic; fired by Dallas in 2011 after missing the playoffs for two straight seasons.

RON WILSON

Led Washington to its only Stanley Cup finals appearance in franchise history. Fired in 2002 by his longtime friend, General Manager George McPhee, despite a winning percentage of .540 and two additional (losing) playoff appearances. Has since coached in San Jose and Toronto, and was behind the bench for Team USA’s silver medal in Vanouver in 2010.

PAUL MAURICE

Has been fired twice by Carolina, most recently on Nov. 28, 2011, the same day the Capitals fired Bruce Boudreau.

MIKE KEENAN

Won a Cup with the Rangers in 1993-94 and coached both the Flyers (‘87) and Blackhawks (‘92) to the Cup finals. Has made the playoffs only twice since 1996-97, both first-round losses in his most recent coaching stint with Calgary in ‘08 and ’09. Has worked as a Rangers analyst for MSG Network since the Flames fired him in May 2009.

JAQUES MARTIN

Was behind the bench for Montreal’s stunning seven-game upset of the Presidents’ Trophy winning Caps in the 2009-10 quarterfinals; fired this season with a 13-12-7 record through 32 games.

JON COOPER

The AHL coach of the year led the Tampa Bay affiliate Norfolk Admirals on a 28-game winning streak this season; they will face St. John’s in the Eastern Conference finals Thursday. Of course, Caps have hired two straight coaches with no prior NHL coaching experience and haven’t seen much playoff success, so that alone may make him a long shot. (Random fact: Cooper used to be roommates with former Caps PR director Nate Ewell.)

http://www.washingto...apitals-insider

[Standing_Tall#37]

LOL at all the people that think they know what's best for this team. Sorry to break it to you guys, but changing your coach doesn't guarantee success, and the fact is there isn't any better coaches available out there.

People actually think Mark Crawford or Craig MacTavish are better coaches than AV? There's a reason why no one has offered them a job.

AV has not been the problem contrary to popular belief. The Sedins not stepping up when we need them most, Kesler getting injured and having invisible linemates, the D-core being injured and falling apart, and inconsistent goaltending from Luongo. Until these things are fixed, we're going to have a tough time winning with any coach.

Stop blaming the coach for the players shortcomings.

[allstar_luongo1]

I hope Mike Gillis comes on CDC and sees some of these comments before he decides to put the future of this team with AV... I for certain will not follow the team if they continue with the AV era... I'm sick and tired of seeing him make dumb mistakes with line ups, comments, etc.

[DeNiro]

And people protecting the coach and blaming everything on the players is also wrong.

[smackyo23]

Biggest mistake this franchise will ever make and that's coming from the franchise that traded away Cam Neely.

[DeNiro]

Fair enough, but if these players have proven in 10+ years, that they can't get it done when it matters...when do you bring in a new core???

Because if you keep the same coach+same core and don't progress then you are moving laterally at best.

[DeNiro]

Biggest mistake this franchise will ever make and that's coming from the franchise that traded away Cam Neely.

[Wilbur]

Somehow get Dale Hunter ..

[Standing_Tall#37]

Last season was a huge progression since we made it to the finals. Fans that think that it was going to be easy for us to get back there this season obviously don't realize how hard that is.

I don't think you need a major shakeup to the coach or the core to have progression. It's all about continually adding to the core and trying to get stronger every offseason.

If we're building a team based on the Detroit model, it's all about slowly transitioning in new young talent as the older core starts to decline. That's what we'll start to see in the next couple seasons. It's basically rebuilding on the fly like you see with the Flyers.

[Jet_91]

[Wilbur]

Hope he gets extended. AV has proven that he can get the most out of this team in the past. Whether it was the low on talent teams that had to play a more defensive style or the puck possession/moving team they have now. Yes, the playoffs were disappointing because the Canucks showed a lack of intensity and maybe AV is partly to blame. But in my books, that's strike 1. If you can't let someone redeem themselves from 2 bad games, then what coach worth a grain of salt will want to come to this organization?

Super grinding tight defensive teams have had success so far in the playoffs. Guess what? The Canucks don't have that super grinding type of team. The don't have size on the back end for that. AV can't coach his players to be bigger. The Canucks have a lot of great puck movers on the back end and they have to play to that strength.

[DeNiro]

I'd agree with that except for with how much we regressed...Philly traded off two major players from their core for 2 major prospects. In all honesty do you see the Canucks/Gillis having the Gonads to do that and if so who do you think of our core is expendable?

[Wilbur]

I'd agree with that except for with how much we regressed...Philly traded off two major players from their core for 2 major prospects. In all honesty do you see the Canucks/Gillis having the Gonads to do that and if so who do you think of our core is expendable?