Peaches Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Glad to see he's doing well in New York, but I don't regret firing him in the slightest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfstonker Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 Looking at the numbers and how they play now, one thing that becomes abundantly clear is that for at least the Sedins and Burrows, they were better under his system. He might have made them look better than they were, nonetheless firing him was still necessary; he gave up on this team in his last year. There are a great many Canucks fans who would have preferred Gillis to go and AV to stay. Imagine if AV had JB as his GM. At last he would have had a GM that new how to build a team and supply to requirements. Still I have great faith in Willie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUPERTKBD Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 So many 'Fire AV' threads stashed away in the depths of CDC. Would have loved to bump em and read em now haha. You should. You'd see that there was a very few of us who were arguing against it for several years. Pat Quinn: 1980 Flyers Lost in Stanley Cup Finals 1984-85 LA Kings, First season as head coach, 23 point improvement, and made the playoffs. 1993-94 Canucks, Lost in Finals 1998-99 Maple Leafs, Lost in Conference Finals 2001-02 Maple Leafs, Lost in Conference Finals 2002 Olympic Gold Head Coach Team Canada 2004 Winner World Cup Head Coach Team Canada 2008 U18 Gold Medal Team Canada 2009 U20 Gold Medal Team Canada 2 Time Jack Adams winner Alain Vigneault: 2011 Canucks Lost in Stanley Cup Finals 2014 Rangers Lost in Stanley Cup Finals Only twice past the 2nd round and those were the Finals he was in. 2007 Jack Adams Trophy Winner 1988 Won QMJHL with Hull. Sorry, not even close. Funny, I could have sworn the conversation was about the greatest Canucks coach... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronalds.Kenins41 Posted February 11, 2015 Author Share Posted February 11, 2015 There are a great many Canucks fans who would have preferred Gillis to go and AV to stay. Imagine if AV had JB as his GM. At last he would have had a GM that new how to build a team and supply to requirements. Still I have great faith in Willie. ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronalds.Kenins41 Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share Posted February 14, 2015 Updated Article Shows a bit of insight into how things were like. Alain Vigneault stepped behind the Montreal Canadiens bench on Oct. 1, 1997 feeling ready, if a bit green. He was 36 years old, the second youngest coach in Canadiens history behind Claude Ruel. Vigneault was coaching his first NHL game. "I was a little French Quebecer getting an opportunity to coach the team from his province," Vigneault told NHL.com on Friday. "I knew the history that was there with the Habs, so I just felt so honored and privileged." The Canadiens tied the Ottawa Senators 2-2 in Vigneault's NHL coaching debut. They defeated theBoston Bruins 4-1 three nights later to give him his first win. On Saturday, Vigneault can become the 21st coach in NHL history to win 500 games, when his New York Rangers play the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena (8 p.m. ET; FS-A, MSG). The self-proclaimed little French Quebecer is one win away from tying Montreal coach and Hockey Hall of Fame member Toe Blake for 20th place on the NHL wins list. Vigneault is two wins shy of tying Pat Burns, another former Canadiens coach and Hockey Hall of Fame member, for 19th place. Vigneault is 499-335-35-72 in 941 games coached. "I do understand that 500 is a lot of wins and I've been very fortunate to have coached some real good players, have had some real great assistants working with me, and I've always had support of management," said Vigneault, in his second season with New York. "So to get to 500 wins, I mean there's not a lot of these jobs out there. When I started there were only 26 of these jobs, now there is 30. I obviously feel very privileged to be one of the 30." Vigneault got his chance to be a coach in the NHL in 1997 because he impressed former Canadiens general manager Rejean Houle with his preparedness and composure. Vigneault had been a coach for 11 years, including in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and almost four seasons as an assistant with the Senators, by the time he got the job with the Canadiens. "You could see there was something there with him, that he knew what was going on," Houle said. "He had the feeling for the game and knew the game well. He was a very intelligent person and he knew exactly what to do and how to approach the players. He was a young coach, but he was a very mature person and you could feel that right away." Rick Bowness felt the same way when he interviewed Vigneault to be his assistant with the expansion Senators in 1992. Vigneault was 31. "Ten to 15 minutes into the interview I knew I was going to offer him the job and was hoping he would take it," Bowness said. "I knew then he would be a head coach. We played with some of the same guys, and the background checks I did with them, they all said, 'You're going to love this guy, he's a lot like you.' You could sense how serious he was and the passion he had for the game. It just jumps out at you." Bowness watched as Vigneault learned how to deal with the NHL player, which is much different for a coach coming from working with junior players. But what truly impressed Bowness was how Vigneault responded to being fired by the Canadiens 20 games into the 2000-01 season. He took some time off and then went back to coaching junior hockey before getting hired by the Vancouver Canucks to coach their American Hockey League affiliate in Winnipeg. It took Vigneault six years to get another coaching job in the NHL. "When you're the coach of the Montreal Canadiens, man, you're the king of the province," Bowness said. "But to go back to junior hockey, back to the minors and do what he did to get back to this level just speaks volumes for his passion for the game." Bowness saw Vigneault's maturity firsthand when he went to work with him in Vancouver in 2006. It was evident in how Vigneault kept his emotion to the side and analyzed the game for what he was seeing, not feeling. "The worst thing a coach can do is think with his heart," Bowness said. "Alain thinks with his head and he stays one step ahead of everything." Vigneault has had success -- two trips to the Stanley Cup Final, including last season with the Rangers, and two Presidents' Trophies with the Canucks -- in part because of the respect he has from his players. He's not light on them, but he doesn't ride them to the point where they resent him. "As long as you worked hard with [Alain] you would get a chance to play," said Canucks forwardAlexandre Burrows, who had Vigneault as a coach in the American Hockey League and in Vancouver. "Guys could talk to him and not feel too nervous."Burrows said he could always tell when Vigneault was unhappy; it was when he didn't come into the dressing room after a game or a practice. "One thing I learned if I ever coach is that's maybe one thing I'll do," Burrows said. "If I really get angry, you just don't come in, and the next day it's probably better if you thought about things and can teach instead of yelling and screaming." Canucks forward Daniel Sedin said he can count on one hand the times he remembers Vigneault losing his cool during his seven seasons in Vancouver."He was good to the players and that's what counts," Sedin said. Vigneault hasn't changed in New York. When asked, his players repeatedly talk about the respect he has for them and they have for him. Not once has a Rangers player even hinted at the idea that they weren't prepared for a game. "His pre-scout and getting the team ready, X's and O's, is the best I have seen," Sedin said. It helps that Vigneault coaches a system that is player-friendly. His teams thrive on speed and moving the puck quickly, generating a lot of quality offensive chances, and pressuring the puck relentlessly. The Rangers are fourth in the NHL in scoring with 161 goals in 53 games. The Canucks finished in the top five in scoring in three of his seven seasons, including first in 2010-11 and second in 2009-10. The Canadiens were fifth in scoring in 1997-98. Vigneault's teams have scored 2.75 goals per game in his 941 games. "I believe that there's one way to play and that's the right way," Vigneault said. "Most coaches that have success in the NHL they all believe in their way of coaching and philosophy in playing, and at the end of the day I believe what myself and my assistants are trying to do is right." How can anyone say he's doing it wrong? Vigneault is one win away from being the 21st member of an exclusive club. "Five hundred wins, it's an amazing accomplishment," Bowness said. "He's been to the Final twice, he's going to take that team there again." Powerful way to let the players know they are doing something wrong. Love it. 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RUPERTKBD Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Would've been nice to have that article a few years ago when I was arguing with all the haters who claimed that he "never went into the dressing room" and that he always "played favorites"...oh, and my personal favorite "AV only knows how to coach defense". Grats on the 500th win Viggy. A few of us here in BC still appreciate what you did for the Canucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldnews Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Would've been nice to have that article a few years ago when I was arguing with all the haters who claimed that he "never went into the dressing room" and that he always "played favorites"...oh, and my personal favorite "AV only knows how to coach defense". Grats on the 500th win Viggy. A few of us here in BC still appreciate what you did for the Canucks. Yeah: "Defend the 0-0 tie." My response to that when they fired him and hired Tortorella was "Defend the 0-1 deficit." "AV isn't good with young players / won't give them a chance." Great coach. Great personality. Great sense of humour. one of the great AV / Canuck moments.,, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUPERTKBD Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Yeah: "Defend the 0-0 tie." My response to that when they fired him and hired Tortorella was "Defend the 0-1 deficit." "AV isn't good with young players / won't give them a chance." Great coach. Great personality. Great sense of humour. one of the great AV / Canuck moments.,, Pretty funny that we have Vernon Fiddler to thank for this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pimp C Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 AV is the man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUPERTKBD Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 AV is the man. I think that last game against the Rags was as good as it gets, IMHO. The 'Nucks won, but NY got a point (which we don't care about at all) and we saw the kind of entertaining hockey that makes this a great spectator sport. If that type of game happened on a night by night basis, I don't think there would be any attendance issues in hockey...anywhere... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronalds.Kenins41 Posted February 23, 2015 Author Share Posted February 23, 2015 AV is the man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dasein Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Wow, great stuff. Thanks for posting I found the part you bolded to be very interesting and insightful as well - it works on so many levels It lets the coach evaluate and prepare sound criticisms with evidence It lets the players know that the coach is upset without having their confidence ripped apart by yelling It also lets the players evaluate their own performance before the coach lets them know what they did wrong, think constructively what they could have done better, and come in the next morning to meet with the coach and discuss what went wrong and put forth their own ideas of what could improve their own play And most importantly, it doesn't damage the relationship between coach and player As opposed to Torts... yelling guys heads off at the bench, I can imagine what he was like behind closed doors Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronalds.Kenins41 Posted March 5, 2015 Author Share Posted March 5, 2015 Yeah I always thought he was under appreciated for what he did here. Although I know he's a coach, it must have hurt a ton when it happened. When AV has the right stuff to work with he is easily one of the top nhl coaches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronalds.Kenins41 Posted March 12, 2015 Author Share Posted March 12, 2015 AV meeting Daniel and the guys before the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roland Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 I think his horrible playoff record had something to do with the firing. Had 1 playoff win in 9 games during 2012-2013. Torts did much worse, but at least we some positives out of it. JB, Virtanen, Vey, half our current team Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilduce39 Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 Always liked AV. I felt it was time to move on, as he had coached the same group for so long (including some in the AHL) and with the NTCs he was the easier piece to move. Really liked how he put the leadership onus on the players - made them accountable for getting better. Wasn't just his job to squeeze it out of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2SKATES1STICK Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 I think his horrible playoff record had something to do with the firing. Had 1 playoff win in 9 games during 2012-2013. Torts did much worse, but at least we some positives out of it. JB, Virtanen, Vey, half our current team vey is a positive? you'd rather have vey than av... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Surfer Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 I remember AV as a great coach. But a lot was going on. Almost like he was starting to get frustrated? My memory was he did not want to be a lame duck coach. Don't know if he asked for it, or Gillis gave him an extension to avoid being that lame duck one year before he got fired. In and among brewing controversy over Lou. What does AV do? He promptly tells the French press something about Lou wanting out... And pisses off Kesler with statements about being injured not being a good excuse for poor play off's. I think he was frustrated. Milked us for a contract and then got himself fired. I'm probably drawing conclusions that are not the real story. It just seemed like it to me. As good as he was, it was equally obvious he had run his course here anyway... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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