Former Flyers coach Alain Vigneault says he is retiring
Vigneault amassed a 74-54-19 record with the Flyers, who are still paying out the final year of his five-year, $25 million contract.
It appears we have seen the last of Alain Vigneault behind an NHL bench.
The former Flyers coach recently told the Journal de Québec that he is all done and that it is time for him to start enjoying other parts of his life.
“When I signed my contract with the Flyers, I told my personal team it would be my last one,” Vigneault said. “Nothing made me change my mind.”
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Vigneault, who ranks 10th in NHL history with 722 wins, spent 19 seasons as an NHL coach. He coached 1,363 regular-season games split between four teams: the Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, and the Flyers. Vigneault twice reached the Stanley Cup Final — with Vancouver (2010-11) and New York (2013-14) — but never won hockey’s biggest prize.
The Flyers were the fourth and final stop for Vigneault. He coached the team for 2½ seasons, highlighted by a run to within a game of the conference finals during the COVID-19-interrupted 2019-20 season. Following a disappointing 2020-21 season, Vigneault was fired amid an eight-game losing streak on Dec. 6, 2021, after an 8-10-4 start.
“I just turned 62 years old, and at the end of my contract, I’ll be 63,” Vigneault said. “I think it’s time to make the most of the rest of life. I had a great career. Hockey was good to me and my family. After a while, it’s time to have a little fun, and that’s where I am in my life. I’m going to try to work on my golf game, even if it isn’t very good.”
Vigneault amassed a 74-54-19 record with the Flyers, who are still paying out the final year of his five-year, $25 million contract.