Batman” is widely known to be a protector of Gotham City. Well, on April 15, 2019, Alain Vigneault became the “Batman” of the Flyers (Although, it wasn’t known till now). The franchise turned to an experienced mind to right the ship that was starting to sail after Dave Hakstol struggled to navigate the stormy seas.
Vigneault inherited a team that didn’t believe, and was a dumpster fire in 2018-19 while finishing with 82 points (37-37-8). 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. Unbelievable right!!!! AV 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.
Most of all he got this team to believe. He was giddy to the press at times, and one time he went full heels on a reporter, “At the end of the day, I can only state the facts. The fact was that Gallagher got up and his mouth didn’t shut up for at least five minutes, to the referees, the linesmen and to our bench for nearly five minutes. He didn’t look like he was hurt other than obviously it looked like he had a cut. I believe that if the Montreal medical personnel felt that it was something real serious, they would have probably taken him off and brought him inside. I can only state the facts and state what I was watching. What I was watching was a guy that just kept on talking so he didn’t seem like he was hurt.”
His team notices this type of stuff that their coach will stick up for them when they cannot otherwise do so. These are the little things that players can effectively communicate with AV. The team responded in a positive way by winning a playoff series for the first time in eight years.
Lastly, Vigneault had to overcome long-term injuries and ailments to Nolan Patrick and Oskar Lindblom in his first season as coach. Not an easy task to do, as both players fill a top 9 role. Vigneault got this team to believe in themselves, and that they could conquer whatever hurdles came their way throughout the course of the season.
Was his first year as Head Coach easy? No, but he was deserving of this Jack Adam’s award. Vigneault deserved this, but others thought differently as Bruce Cassidy of the Boston Bruins won the Jack Adams Award. However, at the end of the day the Flyers are now deemed as a contender next season, and Flyers fans can thank Vigneault for that.
