The Philadelphia Flyers have hired Alain Vigneault as their new head coach, the team announced Monday. Vigneault most recently worked as the head coach of the New York Rangers for five seasons from 2013-14 until 2017-18.
“We are extremely excited to have Alain join this franchise and lead our team behind the bench for many years to come,” said general manager Chuck Fletcher. “He brings a tremendous amount of success over an extended period of time that will prove valuable to our team to take the next steps in returning the winning culture to the Philadelphia Flyers organization.”
This is the fourth team that Vigneault will have coached in the NHL having spent time with the Rangers, Vancouver Canucks
“It is an honor to be selected as the next head coach of the Flyers,” said Vigneault. “The history they have established and the passionate fan base has made this a first-class franchise. I am excited to work with Chuck, the talented group of players and prospects coming up through the system, in order to return Philadelphia to the top of the NHL landscape.”
Vigneault Looking to Bring Consistency to Philadelphia
Vigneault may not have much recent success but his success in the past obviously made him an attractive option for Fletcher and the Flyers who feel they are closer to competing now than previous management in Philadelphia felt. Whether or not Vigneault is the right man for the job, he’s landing on a team with some of the best prospects in the NHL who are either already on the team or knocking on the door and ready for a call-up
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One knock on Vigneault was his preference to play veteran players as opposed to younger players in New York. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as nobody knows what occurs behind closed doors. Still, he’ll have to get used to playing some of these younger guys more consistently with the sheer number of young faces he’ll have as the Flyers’ coach.
Inconsistency has been the name of the game for the Flyers who have failed to qualify for the postseason in two consecutive seasons since 2012. The team has made the playoffs three times and missed it four times since 2012-13 and have failed to get past the first-round in any of those years.
With Vigneault at the helm, the goal is for the team to find consistency first and foremost. Once the team can figure out who they are as a team, the aim is obviously set on a Stanley Cup.
