DownUndaCanuck Posted July 6, 2023 Share Posted July 6, 2023 Say what you want about him, probably my favourite Canucks coach. He didn't have to do much with such a star studded team and goalie but he had some big personalities and stars to manage I suppose. I know a lot of people liked Craw and BB but AV was always a very solid coach. Surprised to see Tocchet's winning points % right up there though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citizen Erased Posted July 6, 2023 Share Posted July 6, 2023 I can’t believe he retired before Bowness. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sxqhfeh Posted July 6, 2023 Share Posted July 6, 2023 I felt he deserved more. Vancouver has not rebounded since they let him go. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Biestra Posted July 6, 2023 Share Posted July 6, 2023 (edited) Great career. Retiring and enjoying life probably means he'll be a Kirk Muller / Trevor Linden of coaches just outside the Hall of Fame range. If he plugged away and got another 200 wins or something he'd probably Dave Andreychuk his way into the Hall. But you only live once and he should enjoy it. Smart guy. Just squeaked his way into the NHL but retired from playing and started coaching young when he knew he had gone as far as he was going to go as a player. Bet heavy on his knowledge of the game and it paid off. Edited July 6, 2023 by Kevin Biestra 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillipBlunt Posted July 6, 2023 Share Posted July 6, 2023 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuck73_3 Posted July 6, 2023 Share Posted July 6, 2023 1 hour ago, Kevin Biestra said: Great career. Retiring and enjoying life probably means he'll be a Kirk Muller / Trevor Linden of coaches just outside the Hall of Fame range. If he plugged away and got another 200 wins or something he'd probably Dave Andreychuk his way into the Hall. But you only live once and he should enjoy it. Smart guy. Just squeaked his way into the NHL but retired from playing and started coaching young when he knew he had gone as far as he was going to go as a player. Bet heavy on his knowledge of the game and it paid off. Yep short of HHOF but interestingly enough does he deserve Ring of Honour here? I lean yes on that end. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coconuts Posted July 6, 2023 Share Posted July 6, 2023 The most successful Canucks coach ever, and my personal favourite. Wish we, and he, had gotten a cup. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Biestra Posted July 6, 2023 Share Posted July 6, 2023 (edited) 4 minutes ago, canuck73_3 said: Yep short of HHOF but interestingly enough does he deserve Ring of Honour here? I lean yes on that end. Interesting question. I guess if any other coach belongs it's him and Roger. Roger has a statue though. He would also be the first guy who never actually played for the team so it could open a can of worms a little bit. Do we then start possibly thinking about Larry Ashley or Tom Larscheid or Babe Pratt etc. Anyway...I'm still trying to slay the dragons first and get Gino Odjick, Richard Brodeur and Tiger Williams in there. Edited July 6, 2023 by Kevin Biestra 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuck73_3 Posted July 6, 2023 Share Posted July 6, 2023 Just now, Kevin Biestra said: Interesting question. I guess if any other coach belongs it's him and Roger. Roger has a statue though. He would also be the first guy who never actually played for the team so it could open a can of worms a little bit. Do we then start possibly thinking about Larry Ashley or Tom Larscheid or Babe Pratt etc. Anyway...I'm still trying to slay the dragons first and get Gino Odjick, Richard Brodeur and Tiger Williams in there first. Pat Quinn is up there for his Coaching/GM, him playing here had to help a bit but his playing career isn't why he is up there imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Biestra Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 (edited) 20 minutes ago, canuck73_3 said: Pat Quinn is up there for his Coaching/GM, him playing here had to help a bit but his playing career isn't why he is up there imo. Pat Quinn is up there for his work as an executive but his having played as a Canuck kind of creates a foothold other builders don't have. I'd have no problem seeing Vigneault up there but it could at least theoretically open a floodgate. Quinn does have his number as a player in his display. Vigneault and any of the other guys I named would have no number. Not a huge deal but it opens new doors for induction when space in the stands won't be expanding. Edited July 7, 2023 by Kevin Biestra 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Arrogant Worms Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewbieCanuckFan Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 It doesn't get mentioned enough but Vigneault *DID* have a way with developing players. And not just on the Canucks but on the Moose when he was coach there. Guys like Bieksa, Burrows, Hansen, etc., and even Tanev didn't get drafted/signed as "finished products". Heck, he was even able to get a guy like Kyle Wellwood to check. Sure, nobody would give him a Selke vote but Wellwood was able to adjust his game to take advantage of his strengths to improve his play without the puck. He wasn't just a coach that relied on his goalie to win him his games. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wise Guy Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 (edited) 4 hours ago, Coconuts said: The most successful Canucks coach ever, and my personal favourite. Wish we, and he, had gotten a cup. Never liked him, we had a team that could have been a dynasty under a better coach, with the talent we had one unsuccessful SCF appearance and a bunch of early exits is an epic failure. On a side note I made a ton of money investing in bubble gum stock, he was a master at chewing it while our players were being abused. Edited July 7, 2023 by Wise Guy 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Biestra Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 (edited) 6 minutes ago, Wise Guy said: Never liked him, we had a team that could have been a dynasty under a better coach, with the talent we had one unsuccessful SCF appearance and a bunch of early exits is an epic failure. On a side note I made a ton of money investing in bubble gum stock, he was a master at chewing it while our players were being abused. I don't know if the team had the makings of a dynasty. Maybe. People kind of forget that the Sedins' prime as truly dominant players was really only a few years. The team wasn't the most mentally strong. Some of that might be on the coaching. I don't know. I never thought of Luongo as a meltdown guy before he got to Vancouver. Edited July 7, 2023 by Kevin Biestra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazzle Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 7 hours ago, sxqhfeh said: I felt he deserved more. Vancouver has not rebounded since they let him go. The Canucks got swept in the first round and he was let go afterwards. His time was definitely up here. There should not be any questions about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazzle Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 9 hours ago, DownUndaCanuck said: Say what you want about him, probably my favourite Canucks coach. He didn't have to do much with such a star studded team and goalie but he had some big personalities and stars to manage I suppose. I know a lot of people liked Craw and BB but AV was always a very solid coach. Surprised to see Tocchet's winning points % right up there though... Small sample does that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewbieCanuckFan Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 17 minutes ago, Dazzle said: Small sample does that. Look no further than Eddie Lack. His numbers looked pretty good when Ryan Miller was the acknowledged starter. But as soon as *he* was the starter (on another team to be fair), he came back down to Earth. Far less pressure (imho) to be the backup (even if you end up playing a fair number of games). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slegr Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 I really enjoyed AV. He seemed like he was regularly having fun out there. I remember there was a point where the Canucks were sucking, and while in Ottawa, when the fun was seemingly getting drained from the team, I think he had them all take a fun skate around the river instead of a regular practice. He’s right behind Pat Quinn as far as my favourites. Maybe he’ll support the Canucks in some capacity… new colour commentator? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Biestra Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 11 minutes ago, NewbieCanuckFan said: Look no further than Eddie Lack. His numbers looked pretty good when Ryan Miller was the acknowledged starter. But as soon as *he* was the starter (on another team to be fair), he came back down to Earth. Far less pressure (imho) to be the backup (even if you end up playing a fair number of games). Alex Auld was the same way. Best goalie in the NHL when he played four games a year. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The King of Kings Posted July 7, 2023 Share Posted July 7, 2023 16 hours ago, -Vintage Canuck- said: The winningest head coach in Canucks history to go along with multiple regular season records. The whole Crow/AV era was such a fun ride! too bad I started following the team during the Rick Ley/Tom Renney days ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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