Flyers Hire Alain Vigneault

The Philadelphia Flyers announced today that they have hired Alain Vigneault to be their next head coach. Vigneault, 57, was most recently the coach of the New York Rangers. He led New York to a 226-147-37 record over five seasons, including four playoff appearances, two conference finals appearances and a Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2014. It was his second final, he also coached the Vancouver Canucks to the 2011 Final. He was fired by the Rangers after the 2017-18 season, the only time the team missed the playoffs in his tenure.

The Flyers have alternated missing and making the playoffs for the past seven years and didn’t win a playoff series in that time. After finishing with 98 points last season, the team got off to a 12-15-4 start and fired coach Dave Hakstol. Interim coach Scott Gordon finished 25-22-4 but the Flyers finished with an even .500 record and 16 points out of the post-season in a tough Metropolitan Divison.

Vigneault is an experienced head coach with 16 years of head coaching experience, going 648-435-98 along with 35 ties. He will be tasked to give the Flyers consistency as their young team continues to grow. Most importantly, he will be responsible for the development of Carter Hart in the NHL.