Former Vancouver Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault announces retirement from hockey

Alain Vigneault, who coached the Vancouver Canucks to within one win of the Stanley Cup in 2011, has announced his retirement.

Vigneault, 62, served as head coach of the Canucks between the 2006–07 and 2012–13 seasons, winning the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top coach in 2007 and leading the Canucks to back-to-back Presidents’ Trophies in 2011 and 2012.

The Quebec City product also coached the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Philadelphia Flyers during his long career behind an NHL bench, collecting 722 wins in 1,363 games. He led the Rangers to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final, which they lost in five games to the Los Angeles Kings.

Vigneault announced his retirement in an interview with le Journal de Québec on Thursday.

“When I signed my contract with the Flyers, I told those around me that it was my last,” Vigneault said in the French-language interview. “There is nothing that made me change my mind.

“I just turned 62 and when my contract ends I will be 63. I think it’s time to enjoy life,” Vigneault added. “I had a great career. Hockey has been good for me and my family. At some point, you have to have a little fun and I’m there in my life.”

In 2019, the Flyers signed Vigneault to a five-year contract with the intention that he would coach the team until the end of the 2023–24 season. The team relieved Vigneault of his coaching duties midway through the 2020–21 campaign.

Although his tenure in Philadelphia ended without much in the way success, Vigneault’s time in Vancouver is generally remembered in a much more positive light. He helped the club win six division titles and make the playoffs every year of his tenure except one.

Vigneault is the winningest coach in Canucks history in both the regular season and the playoffs. Since his departure in 2013, the Canucks have cycled through five head coaches (John Tortorella, Willie Desjardins, Travis Green, Bruce Boudreau, and Rick Tocchet) and have qualified for the playoffs twice in 10 seasons.