By Joel Smart (Sports Editor) – Email
As he quickly approaches his 50th birthday, head honcho behind the Vancouver Canucks bench Alain Vigneault has been perfecting the craft of coaching for nearly half his life. Thirty-three seasons ago, Vigneault began to play for the Hull Olympiques in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) at the young age of 16. His playing career would prove to be short-lived, with only two seasons in the NHL, but his true talent as a coach emerged shortly-thereafter as he took the reigns of a team he had played for just a few years before. It was a road that would eventually see him in Vancouver where he would win the Jack Adams Award for the NHL coach most responsible for his team’s success.
Starting in the 1978-79 season, the 5’11 Quebec City native played defence for five seasons in the QMJHL. He scored 11 goals and 46 points in his rookie season with the Olympiques. His 90 penalty minutes (PIM) jumped to 217 in a scrappy second season, a season he managed 13 goals and 54 points. Midway into his third season, with 39 points and 82 PIM already, he was traded to the Trois Rivieres Draveurs, where he finished with an additional 25 points and 93 PIM. In the following 1980-81 season, his 62 points and 181 PIM, bolstered by some impressive defensive play, got him noticed by NHL talent scouts.
In the eighth round of the 1981 NHL Entry Draft, Alain Vigneault (who acquired the infamous nickname Bam-Bam) was selected by the St. Louis Blues. That season he played 64 games for the CHL farm team, the Salt Lake Golden Eagles, gaining 12 points and 266 PIM. He also made his NHL debut and played 14 games for the Blues. During that short stint, he scored his first NHL goal. In the 82-83 season he doubled his time in the NHL with 28 games, but scored only one more goal, and finished his NHL career with just seven regular season points. He also played four games in the 1983 playoff run by the Blues, and managed a single assist. He was traded the following year, and played just 11 games in the AHL for the Maine Mariners. In the following 83-84 season he played his last year of professional hockey for the CHL Montana Magic; in 47 games he had 16 points and 139 PIM.
Just three seasons later, Vigneault was the main man behind the Trois Rivieres Draveurs bench. He coached them to just 28 wins and 58 points in the 70-game season – well out of the playoffs. The next season he was coaching for the team he first played for. The Olympiques managed 43 wins and 90 points, enough to top the Lebel Division. They went on win a seven-game series against the Drummondville Voltigeurs in the QMJHL Finals, taking them to the 1988 Memorial Cup to face the top OHL and WHL teams. Ultimately they were defeated by the Trevor Linden-led Medicine Hat Tigers. Despite the loss, Vigneault was awarded the CHL Coach of the Year award. He would spend four more years with team, each with a winning percentage. He also won a gold medal for team Canada as assistant coach in the 1991 World Junior Championships.
It was enough to land him an assistant coaching gig in the NHL, where he spent just over three seasons with the Ottawa Senators. Though it was good experience at the time, he entered the organization during a rebuilding period, and the team did poorly each year. So midway through the 95-96 season he returned to the QMJHL to coach the Beauport Harfangs. After two seasons, he was named head coach of the greatly-adored Montreal Canadiens.
He coached the Canadians from 1997-2001 – just over three seasons. The team only made the playoffs in his first year, when they finished the season with 87 points. They made it to the second round, but were swept by the Buffalo Sabres. In the 99-00 season, Vigneault was nominated for the Jack Adams award, despite missing the playoffs, due to the 35-win, 83-point performance of a team crippled with injuries. However, he was fired early the next season due to a poor start.
In 2003, Vigneault was hired as head coach of another QMJHL team, the P.E.I. Rocket. In his first season, the team came alive with 40 wins and 90 points in the 70-game season. Unfortunately, they lost in six games to the Moncton Wildcats in the second round. The next season they managed only 55 points, and missed the playoffs altogether. Regardless, the Canucks organization saw potential in Vigneault, and hired him to coach the 05-06 season for their AHL farm team, the Manitoba Moose.
Then, after seven seasons as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks from 98-06, Marc Crawford was fired after the team failed to make the playoffs in its first post-lockout season. With just a single season under his belt with the Moose, a season they finished with 100 points (including only 24 regulation losses) and a second-round playoff exit, Alain Vigneault would establish himself as an elite NHL head coach in his inaugural season with the Vancouver Canucks.
Dave Nonis, in just his second season as general manager, brought highly-touted goalternder Roberto Luongo to the team; it would mean a Jack Adams Award for Vigneault. Despite a five-game second-round loss to the Anaheim Ducks and ex-GM Brian Burke, the Canucks had an incredible year. Not only did Vigneault’s first season lead to a Northwest Division title for the Canucks in an astounding 49-win, 105-point performance, but the team was able to top the Dallas Stars in the first round of the playoffs, despite failing to score a goal in three of the games. The most impressive win of the series was the opening game, in which the Canucks allowed 76 shots before Henrik Sedin scored the game winner with a minute left in the fourth overtime period.
Despite coach of the year honours in his first season with the Canucks, a barrage of injuries and a disappointing finish saw the team finish with just 88 points in his second season with the club, missing the playoffs completely. However, the team rebounded in 08-09, as Vigneault lead them to the second round after capturing the Northwest Division title with 100 points. The team improved to 103 points the following year, but once again fell to the Chicago Blackhawks in the second round.
Now, in the 2010-2011 season, coach “A.V.” has lead the team to it’s fastest-ever 100-point season. In his 400th career game with the Canucks on March 16, Vigneault’s team captured the Northwest Division title in fewer games than it ever has before. The impressive regular season has come despite key injuries to Alex Edler, Dan Hamhuis, Keith Ballard, Sami Salo, Alex Burrows, Kevin Bieksa, Tanner Glass, and, most recently, Manny Malhotra.
Regardless of what happens from this point forward, Vigneault must again be considered a leading candidate for the Jack Adams Award, but what is clear is that he is far more concerned about how the team does this year in the playoffs, rather than how impressive he has looked as a coach this year. It’s his calm, collected nature that makes him such a reliable force behind the bench; it’s the way he sticks up for his players, as he did last season for Alex Burrows when Ron MacLean accused him of diving and lying about the controversial remarks of referee Stephane Augee.
That’s what makes him so special – his ability to find the delicate balance between professionalism and telling it like it is. He also has the ability to temper his passion with much-appreciated humour. Though sometimes criticized for his constant juggling of lines, the results speak for themselves. Vigneault has played an enormous role in the current success of this team.
