With all the success that Alain Vigneault achieved in Vancouver during his tenure with the Vancouver Canucks, the Montreal native was given the boot by General Manager Mike Gillis this past week. Along with Vigneault the Canucks also let go of assistant coaches Rick Bowness and Newell Brown. Unfortunately for the three coaches, their failures to land a title to the franchise ultimately spelled the end of their time in Vancouver.
Now, General Manager Mike Gillis faces the daunting task of finding a new coach that can hopefully deliver the franchise the title they, along with the entire province of British Columbia has been desperately craving. Here is a list of some possible coaches who could replace Vigneault as the new bench boss
Dave Tippet is one of the names that is currently being tossed around in the media, and is currently coaching the Phoenix Coyotes. Like Vigneault, he is a defensive minded coach, and would bring little change behind the bench making this possibility highly unlikely. What the Canucks should look for is a more offensive minded coach who would light a fire underneath the Sedin twins, and Ryan Kesler.
Dallas Eakins is another appealing name that has come up for General Manager Mike Gillis. He is currently the head coach of the AHL Toronto Marlies, and is eagerly awaiting his 1st opportunity to coach in the NHL. Eakins would appeal to the Canucks organization due to the fact that the Canucks possess some youngsters on their team who could use the right coach to help develop their game, and establish themselves as dominant NHL players. Eakins familiarity with youngsters will allow him to communicate effectively with the younger players on the Canucks roster.
Lastly, another coach who could replace Vigneault in Vancouver can come from a familiar face coming in the form of Scott Arniel who is currently the head coach of the AHL Chicago Wolves. Arniel will definitely be looked at based on the fact that he is familiar with the Canucks organization, and already has some existing relationships with current Canucks players who used to play for him in the AHL. Arniel’s only previous experience in the NHL was when he was the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets, but was fired 41 games into his 2nd season as head coach.
From looking at the above list of candidates, the Canucks are presented with coaches who all possess different coaching philosophies. Mike Gillis must decide what type of style the Canucks will role out onto the ice next season, and have it match the style of coaching they decide to hire.
Written by: Hamed Amiri
(SEE ALSO: Canucks Bandwagon 101 For Dummies)
