Feud Erupts Between Flyers' Head Coach & Star Player
The Philadelphia Flyers are tied in points with the Boston Bruins for 1st in the East Division. They have been off to a strong start thanks to top tier and depth contributions. Travis Konecny has played extremely well, but Head Coach Alain Vigneault has made him a healthy scratch last week against the New York Islanders. It's now suspected that Konecny and Vigeneault are in the middle of a feud.
Former NHL'er and current Sportsnet analyst Kevin Bieksa discussed a similar incident between he and Alain Vigneault when they were both members of the Vancouver Canucks organization. Elliotte Friedman has used this situation to compare against the current Konecny-Vigneault feud.
Alain Vigneault's stunning benching of Travis Konecny didn't surprise one of his former players, Kevin Bieksa. During Hockey Night In Canada last Saturday, he said there was a game during the prime of his career where Vigneault told him during a morning skate that only an injury to Alex Edler prevented Bieksa from being a healthy scratch that night. Bieksa threw a massive tantrum, smashing sticks and slamming doors.
For several hours, fans flooded by DM's with insane trade scenarios, but save your energy - Konecny's not going anywhere.
Whether Vigneault is upset with Konecny's on ice play or off ice conduct is unknown, but it must be concerning enough for Vignealt to sit arguably the best player on the team. Friedman has comforted Flyers fans and states that he's not going anywhere. It's absurd to assume a player is on the block or will demand a trade based on one feud with a coach. At the end of the day, Vigeneault wants to win and is scratching Konecny to motivate him. Whether that works or not is another story.
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