On April 15, 2019, Alain Vigneault became the21st Head Coach in franchise history as the Flyers turned to an experienced mind to right the ship that was starting to sail after Dave Hakstol struggled to navigate the stormy seas. 2020 has become an unpredictable year (To say the least), but thankfully the Flyers hired the right Head Coach to direct this young club for the unpredictable 2020 playoffs that lies ahead, and it’s the things he says that standout, “From the first of November to the season was postponed, with Boston and Tampa we had the best record in the league,” Vigneault said following practice yesterday, “Boston had 80 points. Us and Tampa had 78. I look at that and I look at how our players responded to the Oskar situation. I’m so proud of this group and everybody associated with it. That was a very challenging time for our group and we responded by doing our jobs, staying focused, players being supportive to Oskar, organization and fans being supportive of Oskar. This nomination for me considering what could have happened is extra special. Oskar is healthy now, our team did well, so this is very special for me.” The nomination he speaks of is the Jack Adams Award (Best Coach), which was announced yesterday with Vigneault’s name as a finalist for such.
Ever since his signing, there was a big myth surrounding Vigneault “He leans towards veterans over youth.” After completing his first season with the Flyers this is FALSE. False, False, yea False again. Vigneault has stated time and time again, “Talent has no age.” Some people said Vigneault would block the youth from playing. As a matter of fact, he inherited two young teams in the Vancouver Canucks and the New York Rangers. Vigneault inherited the young Kevin Bieska (25), Alexander Edler (20), Roberto Luongo (27), Ryan Kesler (22), and the Sedin Twins (25), when he was hired by the Vancouver Canucks in 2006-07.
Moreover, the youth led the New York Rangers team in 2013, when Vigneault took over at the helm, with the likes of Jesper Fast (22), Ryan McDonagh (24), Chris Kreider (22), Derek Stepan (23), Carl Hagelin (25), Michael Del Zotto (23), Marc Staal (27), Anton Stralman (27), and Mats Zuccarello (26). I mean Rick Nash was only 29-years-old, as well.
Both teams were very young (Against what some believe), much like the 2019-20 Flyers team that Vigneault inherited. If Vigneault did not believe in the youth infusion that surrounds this young Flyers team, then he wouldn’t have been hired as the 21st Head Coach in Flyers history.
“Oh no, we are long way from where I think we need to get,” Vigneault said following the home opener, “I think we are doing some good things. Players are starting to understand certain aspects of the game that we want to implement, but we still have a lot of work to do to ensure our guys know what to do. Talent has no age, and I am firm believer that there is no doubt that Carter has a lot of potential and growth and development. He is still a very young player.”
Time and time again Vigneault referenced the “Talent has no age” quote throughout the course of the season. With that, Vigneault got Voracek and JVR to buy into his system, as well as, young defencemen in Ivan Provorov, Travis Sanheim, Philippe Myers, and Robert Hagg really fed off of Vigneault and his experienced coaching staff. What Vigneault did was get this team off to a fast start to the season going 2-1 in their first three games of the season, while traveling 3,600 miles for those three games. Moreover, the team responded positively to him while maintaining a record of 41-21-7 good enough for second place in the Metropolitan Division with 89 points, “Really from Day 1, I felt the veteran players of this group were looking for direction and that’s basically what myself, my staff and management did,” Vigneault said, “We gave them direction. We told them this is the plan that we have, this is what you need to do to do your jobs on the ice. I cannot state enough how proud I am of how everyone, the players and the organization, but also the hockey community, the support we got. Hockey has a great community and great fans and great people running it. The support that we got and that Oskar got from other teams, other organizations and players was phenomenal. There’s no doubt in my mind that it helped him go through a very challenging time, a very tough cancer. He’s come out of it with full marks and for our group, everyone that’s close to us, that’s probably the best news that we could have.”
Some teams may not have the depth like the Flyers have to succeed during these playoffs, but some teams don’t also have experience coaches behind the bench to lead them. Vigneault stated at times throughout the season nothing is set in stone, and they have to be prepared for everything. Well, this case definitely have to be prepared, but Vigneault knows how to prepare this team for what lies ahead, “I’m just looking right now at our first three days and the way that our veteran group and our veteran players have come here and the focus,” Vigneault said, “If you look into their eyes, they want to be here. They want to put in the work. They want to get ready. They know our first game is August the 11. They’re really looking forward to this challenge and this opportunity. I like the spirits. I like the mood and I like our guys right now. The leadership is coming from our veteran guys. They want to do well, so we’re going to put in the time and put in the effort.
The good thing is Vigneault will hold his Vets accountable if he has to during the playoffs, unlike what has transpired for the past few years prior to Vigneault. This leads to effective communication, and players know exactly where they stand with this coach. These are tools that will be used for this unpredictable playoff run. Flyers fans buckle up, this is going to be a great playoffs.
