Alain Vigneault embarked on his second season as Flyers Head Coach with high expectations. In just one season at the helm as a Flyers Head Coach, Vigneault made this team a contender by registering a 41-21-7 record, good enough for second in the Metropolitan Division with 89 points. Vigneault is blunt as he holds his stars accountable, for instance benching JvR and Scott Laughton in the playoffs. He also wanted Kevin Hayes, Claude Giroux, Sean Couturier and JvR to put their “Big Boy pants” on during the playoff run.
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He is a good coach, and even after wins he still holds players accountable. For instance, benching Robert Hägg and Mark Friedman for a Veteran in Nate Prosser, and re-inserting Erik Gustafsson back into the lineup this past Thursday night. The Flyers managed to sweep the New Jersey Devils, but there aren’t many coaches that would have the guts to do that following a 5-3 victory Tuesday night.
Even after Thursday’s victory Vigneault wasn’t happy with a few lines his top two lines in particular, and he made it be known:
I think a couple of guys’ performances in those first two periods were very disappointing. Get a day off [Friday] and they’ll get a chance to regroup.”– Alain Vigneault
Vigneault commands a lot from his players, but they also respect him as he treats them like a human being, not as just one of his players. This was a lively locker room last season, and a lot of that had to do of Vigneault. The lines he was referring to were:: Claude Giroux, Nolan Patrick, and Travis Konecny and JvR, Kevin Hayes, and Joel Farabee.
Vigneault then said, “You’d have to ask the players. It’s their responsibility to get themselves ready to be in a state of mind where they can compete and execute. I liked Scotty Laughton’s line with Oskar and Joel and I liked Bunnaman’s line. The other two lines didn’t do much for me, but, can’t critique a win.”
AV has every right to critique a victory. The Flyers can’t seem to find their legs until late in the second period, and fortunately that continues in the third period this year. However, they have yet to play a full complete 60 minute game where they dominated the opponent the entire game. AV has every right to not be happy with his team’s performance.
The way Vigneault holds his team accountable regardless if they win or lose only makes them a better team in the future. Players cannot get too comfortable or complacent thinking their jobs are safe. Vigneault has been a master at pushing the right buttons, and that has continued this season.
