When Alain Vigneault arrived at the Lévis Golf Club for the Celebrity Open, his walk was relaxed, his smile easy, his complexion tanned and he looked relaxed.

Everything in the image of a pensioner and that is exactly the ex-coach’s plan for the next few years: to refine his golf game and at the same time to enjoy life.

At the end of the NHL season, there were six vacancies for head coaching positions. At the end of last season there were even ten positions up for grabs, including his in Philadelphia after a little over two seasons at the top of the Flyers.

Since his release on December 6, 2021, Vigneault has kept a low profile. Today, despite the incessant game of musical chairs in the coaching fraternity, he assures that the desire to return behind the bench does not bother him in the least.

“When I signed my contract with the Flyers, I told those around me it was my last. There’s nothing that made me change my mind,” he said.

time to take the time

It must be said that Vigneault refereed his first game at the Draveurs de Trois-Rivières in the QMJHL in 1986. Since then he has managed three other major junior teams, one in the American League and four in the NHL, and was an assistant in Ottawa.

His rich track record shows him 15th in coaching history with 1,363 games coached in 19 seasons at the Bettman Circuit. In February 2021, he also became only the ninth coach to surpass 700 wins, having also led two teams, the Canucks and the Rangers, to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Next season, veterans like Rick Bowness, 68, John Tortorella, 65, and Lindy Ruff, 63, will still be in the middle of the action, but Vigneault says he doesn’t envy them.

“I’ve just turned 62 and by the end of my contract I’ll be 63. I think it’s time to enjoy life. I’ve had a great career. Hockey has been good for me and my family. At some point you have to have a little fun and I’m there in my life. I try to work on my Golf even if it doesn’t work out!” he joked and laughed heartily.

Proud of Gagne and the Remparts

As for how much Vigneault has won, there’s no way to comment on the latest moves at the Flyers, including picking up Russia’s Matvei Michkov in the draft.

“I’m not anymore. Anyone would have a better opinion than me,” he said.

What interested him most in the last few months was the Remparts’ long road to supremacy in Canadian junior hockey.

Finally, Vigneault was the team’s head coach from 1995 to 1997 while playing as Harfangs de Beauport. In his second season, he also mentored a certain Simon Gagné, who recently became the team’s new general manager.

“I’ve been watching the playoffs, especially the QMJHL Finals and the Memorial Cup. It’s super hockey, it’s super fun. I exchanged messages with Jacques Tanguay and Patrick Roy. I am very happy for the people of Quebec.

“I knew Simon when he was 16 and from Bantam. I remember that the more I asked of him, the better his performance. He was already fond of hockey and had a very good career. I am convinced that Remparts made an excellent choice.