Alain Vigneault is the man! Not only did he guide the Vancouver Canucks to the playoffs with their highest point total in team history, he just won the Jack Adams Trophy for top coach of the year. This is the second time in Vancouver Canucks history that a coach has earned that honor. Vigneault barely beat out last year’s winner, Lindy Ruff of the Buffalo Sabres, with 134 voting points to 126. Michel Therrien of the Pittsburgh Penguins was third with 91 voting points.
“I really am surprised,” said Vigneault. “The other two were great candidates, especially I thought Michel with the tremendous improvement of the Penguins.”
It wasn’t even a year ago that Vigneault was hired as Canucks coach, plucked from the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, and he would never imagined taking home the Jack Adams less then 12 months later.
“It certainly wasn’t my goal,” Vigneault said. “My goal when I was named with the Canucks was to put the team back on track and them in the direction they needed.”
The Canucks only made it to the second round of the playoffs this year where they lost of the eventual Stanley Cup champions, Anaheim Ducks. They had the potential to do better if their top line actually performed to their potential.
Vigneault was asked about his biggest accomplishment in 2007 to which he replied, “That’s easy, getting my picture taken with Rick Yuen!”