Veteran NHL Head Coach Retires from Hockey

According to the Journal de Quebec, Alain Vigneault is retiring from hockey and is no longer interested in being behind a bench in the NHL.

Vigneault leaves the game ranked 10th all time on then NHL's wins list. He spent 19 seasons in the NHL, and is only one of nine coaches with over 700 wins. While the regular season success was never an issue, Vigneault never won a Stanley Cup in the two appearances his team's made in the Final.

He hasn't been in the NHL since 2021, when he was let go by the Philadelphia Flyers. It was an up and career tenure in Philly, which reached a high in 2020 when the veteran coach was nominated for the Jack Adams award as coach of the year.

Shoutout to the winningest coach in #Canucks history on a great coaching career, Alain Vigneault.

An all-time moment with Kevin Bieksa and Vernon Fiddler. 😆 pic.twitter.com/7FRabum0IV

— Grady Sas (@GradySas) July 6, 2023

'AV' also coached the Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers. He also appeared in 42 games as a defenseman in his short playing career. The same can't be said about his coaching career as he'll go down as one of the greatest coaches of all time.

The #NYR 34th coach in franchise history, Alain Vigneault has retired from hockey.

In the five years he was their coach, the Rangers went 226-147-37 in 410 games coached by him.

They also reached the Stanley Cup Finals (2014) and Eastern Conference Finals twice (2014 & 15). pic.twitter.com/KLnhmA0Zs5

— Will (@_willnyr_) July 6, 2023

Photo credit: © Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports