Alain Vigneault

Infobox Ice Hockey Player


image_size =
position = Defence
shoots =
shot = Left
catches =
caught =
nickname =
height_ft = 5
height_in = 11
weight_lb = 200
team =
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former_teams =
played_for = Salt Lake Golden Eagles (CHL)
St. Louis Blues (NHL)
Montana Magic (CHL)
Maine Mariners (AHL)
nationality = CAN
birth_date = birth date and age|1961|5|14
birth_place = Quebec City, QC, CAN
death_date =
death_place =
draft = 167th overall
draft_year = 1981
draft_team = St. Louis Blues
wha_draft =
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career_start = 1981
career_end = 1984
halloffame =
website =

Alain Vigneault (b. May 14, 1961 in Quebec City, Quebec) is a Canadian hockey coach, as well as a former professional hockey defenseman. Vigneault's six seasons of professional playing career was split between the National Hockey League, Central Hockey League and American Hockey League. He has also been a coach, working primarily in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and National Hockey League. He is currently the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL. He won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's top coach of the year for the 2006-2007 season.

Playing career

Vigneault played five seasons of major junior in the QMJHL for the Hull Olympiques and Trois Rivieres Draveurs. Showing an offensive touch, he averaged around a point-per-game in each of his final two seasons in the QMJHL, and season-by-season was consistently his team's top defensive scorer.

After his final junior season, Vigneault was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft as an eighth rounder, 167th overall. He would play two seasons with the Blues, but would play the majority of his three-season professional career in the minors with the Salt Lake Golden Eagles and Montana Magic of the CHL, as well as the Maine Mariners of the AHL.

Career statistics

Coaching career

Vigneault began his coaching career at a very young age, 25, just one season after his final year as a player. In his first six seasons, beginning in 1986–87, he coached in the QMJHL — one season for the Trois Rivieres Draveurs and five for the Hull Olympiques, coincidentally, the same two teams he played junior hockey for. The 1987–88 season with the Olympiques was his best overall in his QMJHL coaching career, as far as regular season record is concerned, finishing 43–23–4.

In 1992–93, Vigneault got his first break in the NHL as an assistant coach with the expansion Ottawa Senators. However, after three consecutive last-place finishes, he returned to the QMJHL half-way through the 1995–96 season to coach the Beauport Harfangs.

One and a half seasons later, Vigneault was granted another chance in the NHL, his first stint as a head coach in the league, with the Montreal Canadiens. He performed well in his first few seasons with the storied franchise, and in 2000, he was nominated for the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year as his team almost made the playoffs in spite of key players lost to injury. Ironically, the season after his nomination, Montreal started poorly and he was fired.

After a third stint in the QMJHL, coaching two seasons for the Prince Edward Island Rocket, Vigneault was hired by the Vancouver Canucks organization to coach their minor-league affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. After a successful season in Manitoba, in which the Moose earned 100 points and reached the second round of the playoffs, he was chosen to replace Marc Crawford as the Canucks' coach for the 2006–07 season.

In his first season as head coach of the Canucks, he set a franchise record for wins in a single season (49), eclipsing Pat Quinn's 1992–93 campaign. As a result, on June 14, 2007, Vigneault beat out Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff to win his first Jack Adams Award, the award for which he was nominated for seven years earlier.

Awards & accomplishments

*Jack Adams Award - 2007
**"nomination - 2000"

Off the ice

Vigneault resides in Gatineau (Hull), Quebec during the offseason. He is divorced with two daughters, Andreane & Janie Vigneault who live with their mother in Trois Rivieres , Que,. He lives in Vancouver during the season with his girlfriend, and her daughter. He can often be found on gamedays jogging around Vancouver's Stanley Park. He is known among the Vancouver media for his sense of humour. His nickname is "A.V."

Coaching record

External links

*hockeydb|7532

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