We're still in the first round of the NHL playoffs, but the Flyers wasted no time in finding their new coach. Philadelphia has named Alain Vigneault as their new man behind the bench. He takes over for interim coach Scott Gordon, who replaced Dave Hakstol for the final 51 games of the regular season and failed to take the Flyers to the playoffs. Vigneault last coached the Rangers for five seasons, and was fired following the 2017-18 campaign when New York failed to make the postseason.
Vigneault has 16 years of head coaching experience with the Canadiens, Canucks and Rangers. His most successful years came in Vancouver, when he led the Canucks to five straight Northwest titles, including a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2011. His success continued when he went to the Rangers, with them coming in second in the Metropolitan in his first season and winning it in his second. The Rangers, however, entered a soft rebuild (which has since bloomed into a full rebuild) after losing in the second round of the 2017 playoffs.
He takes over a Flyers team that underachieved this season, after making the playoffs under Hakstol in 2018. The Flyers finished with 82 standings points, 16 behind the Columbus Blue Jackets in the race for the second Eastern Conference wild card.
