The postseason shortcomings of the Vancouver Canucks have been well documented. Minus the fact that the Bruins beat Vancouver in the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals in seven games, the Canucks have a history of being eliminated prematurely from the playoffs under the direction of head coach Alain Vigneault.
On Wednesday, it is being reported first by Louis Jean of TVA Sports (and later by TSN) that the Canucks have fired Vigneault and assistants Rick Bowness and Newell Browne. This has yet to be confirmed by the Canucks organization, but it seems that change has been coming since their latest playoff elimination at the hands of the San Jose Sharks. Jean has also reported that general manager Mike Gillis met with Vancouver ownership before informing the coaching staff of his decision.
The core of the Canucks are getting older with an inevitable decline in production looming on the horizon. Gillis said after the season that a “reset” was in the future of the organization. While he didn’t expound on it at the time, it seems logical that an overhaul of the coaching staff would be the “reset” he was seeking though the coaches may be taking on more blame than they deserve. There are plenty of coaching candidates available at his disposable, such as Lindy Ruff or Guy Boucher.
Don’t expect Vigneault to be out of work long, especially since Dallas and Colorado have parted ways with Glen Gulutzan and Joe Sacco, respectively, this offseason. While he had many weaknesses behind the Canucks bench, Vigneault did have plenty of strengths and should be behind a NHL bench come the start of next season.
