John Tortorella and Alain Vigneault: The ones that got away?

Two former New York Rangers coaches were named as finalists for the Jack Adam Trophy as coach of the year

When the NHL announced that Alain Vigneault and John Tortorella were finalists for coach of the year honors, it would be easy to say that the New York Rangers let them “get away.”   The pair joined Boston Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy as the top three vote-getters for the Jack Adams Trophy.

While seeing former players earn league-wide recognition is a bad thing, it’s a very different story when it comes to coaches.  In the case of Tortorella and Vigneault, both coaches wore out their welcomes and their departures from Madison Square Garden were necessary.  So, Ranger fans shouldn’t lose any sleep over this latest recognition.

Alain Vigneault

No one should be surprised that Vigneault had a strong season in Philadelphia.  For one, he inherited a solid hockey team and brought stability behind the bench.  Vigneault was the third Flyers coach in a year and a half. He replaced interim coach Scott Gordon who had replaced Dave Hakstol who was fired in a purge of the entire front office, including General Manager Ron Hextall.

Vigneault’s success was to be expected.  In his previous coaching stints in Montreal, Vancouver and New York, his teams showed marked improvement in his first year.  His first season in Montreal, his team improved by ten points.  In Vancouver, the team improved by 13 points and went from fourth to first place.

With the Rangers the team improved slightly in terms of winning percentage, but they also made it to the Stanley Cup Finals.

There is no doubt that Vigneault is an accomplished coach.  His Vancouver and New york teams have finished first seven times in 12 years with two trips to the Finals.   His teams won three Presidents’ Trophies and he won the Jack Adams Award in 2007.

Vigneault’s reputation was as a players’ coach and that was exactly what was needed In Vancouver and New  York, but as those teams changed Vigneault was less effective and in both cities, fans were happy to see him go.

So no one should be surprised that Vigneault has steered the Flyers to an outstanding season with an improvement in winning percentage from .500 in 2018-19 to a sterling .645 this year.  The question, as ever, is how long it will last.