Alain Vigneault

Alain Vigneault (born May 14, 1961) is a Canadian professional head coach currently coaching the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was previously a professional hockey defenceman for six seasons, split between the NHL, Central Hockey League and American Hockey League (AHL). He has also coached the Montreal Canadiens, as well as in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's top coach of the year for the 2006–07 NHL season.

Coaching career
Vigneault began his coaching career at a very young age, 25, just one season after his final year as a player. In his first six seasons, beginning in 1986–87, he coached in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) - one season for the Trois-Rivières Draveurs and five for the Hull Olympiques, coincidentally, the same two teams he played junior hockey for. The 1987–88 season with the Olympiques was his best overall in his QMJHL coaching career, as far as regular season record is concerned, finishing 43–23–4.

In the 1992–93 season, Vigneault got his first break in the NHL as an assistant coach with the expansion Ottawa Senators. However, after three consecutive last-place finishes, he returned to the QMJHL half-way through the 1995–96 season to coach the Beauport Harfangs.

One and a half seasons later, Vigneault was granted another chance in the NHL, his first stint as a head coach in the league, with the Montreal Canadiens. He performed well in his first few seasons with the storied franchise, and in 2000, he was nominated for the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year as his team almost made the playoffs in spite of key players lost to injury. Ironically, the season after his nomination, Montreal started poorly and he was fired.

After a third stint in the QMJHL, coaching two seasons for the Prince Edward Island Rocket, Vigneault was hired by the Vancouver Canucks organization to coach their minor-league affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. After a successful season in Manitoba, in which the Moose earned 100 points and reached the second round of the playoffs, he was chosen to replace Marc Crawford as the Canucks' coach for the 2006–07 season.

In his first season as head coach of the Canucks, he set a franchise record for wins in a single season (49), eclipsing Pat Quinn's 1992–93 campaign. As a result, on June 14, 2007, Vigneault beat out Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff to win his first Jack Adams Award, the award for which he was nominated seven years earlier.

Awards and accomplishments

 * Jack Adams Award - 2007
 * nomination - 2000