Flyers Hire Alain Vigneault as Head Coach

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

Just 10 days after the conclusion of the 2018-19 season, the Flyers have a new head coach. On Monday afternoon, the Flyers named Alain Vigneault as the 21st head coach in franchise history.

"We are extremely excited to have Alain join this franchise and lead our team behind the bench for many years to come," Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher said in a statement. "He brings a tremendous amount of success over an extended period of time that will prove valuable to our team to take the next steps in returning the winning culture to the Philadelphia Flyers organization."

"It is an honor to be selected as the next head coach of the Flyers," Vigneault said in a statement. "The history they have established and the passionate fan base has made this a first-class franchise. I am excited to work with Chuck, the talented group of players, and the prospects coming up through the system in order to return Philadelphia to the top of the NHL landscape."

Vigneault is a veteran head coach in the NHL, getting his first head coaching job in 1997-98 with the Montreal Canadiens, a position he held for four seasons. He also served as the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks for seven seasons from 2006-07 to 2012-13 and spent five seasons as the head coach of the New York Rangers from 2013-14 to 2017-18.

Vigneault is also going to coach Team Canada at World Championships in May.

Over his 16-year coaching career, Vigneault has a 648-435-35-98 record in 1,216 games.

Vigneault has also coached 139 playoff games. In 2011, the Canucks reached the Stanley Cup Final under Vigneault, falling in seven games. The Rangers reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2014 under Vigneault, falling in five games. Vigneault has coached teams to seven division titles, 11 playoff appearances and eight 100-point seasons. He was also awarded the Jack Adams Award in 2006-07 and has been a finalist for the award four times.