Better Head Coaching candidates the Detroit Red Wings should Consider
By Bob Heyrman
The Detroit Red Wings should phone Alain Vigneault to see what he’s up to these days and offer the 57-year old experienced coach a head coaching gig.
Vigneault has earned himself a successful resume. He was selected in the eighth round, 167th overall during the 1981 NHL Entry Level Draft by the St. Louis Blues. The right-handed shooting defender was only able to appear in 42 games NHL games over parts of two seasons with the Blues. He recorded 2 goals and 5 assists and was a minus -5 while accumulating 82 penalty minutes.
The year after his brief NHL playing career he started coaching in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League before breaking into the NHL as an assistant coach with the Ottawa Senators. He would later become the 20th head coach in franchise history with the Montreal Canadiens. For a kid born in Quebec, it must have been a special honor, not just landing your first head coaching job but in Montreal of all places.
He led the Canadiens to a 37-32-13 record his first year behind the bench in 1997/98, a pretty special year for Alain, an even more special season for the Detroit Red Wings I certainly don’t need to remind you.
Alain has had three stops throughout his coaching career, Montreal, Vancouver, and New York with the Rangers. He’s appeared in two Stanley Cups, but he’s come up empty both times, once with Vancouver and the other in his first season with the Rangers. He won the Jack Adams award giving to the coach of the year in 2006/07, his first year with the Canucks.
So what I’m telling you he has a lot of first-year magic with his new teams. But in all seriousness, he’s a proven, veteran coach who appears like he’d be a good mentor and teacher for a young up and coming roster. He’s earned playoff experience with a couple of long postseason runs. His career coaching record through his 16-year coaching career is 648-435-35-98.