“When I took the job five years ago, the assumption was that Alain was going to be fired,” Canucks GM Mike Gillis said.
They found a way to make it work then, but no longer.
So why did Vancouver Canucks GM Mike Gillis decide to fire coach Alain Vigneault this time “after a thorough review?”
Simple: The results weren’t there.
The Vancouver Canucks have been terrific in the regular season, but they have only won a single postseason game over the last two years.
“The fact remains that we didn’t win the games we had to win in order to be successful,” Gillis said in a press conference today. “The message has to change and we have to be better.”
One area Gillis didn’t seem to appreciate questions about was the subject of Vigneault’s potential replacements.
“I know some people out there think this was a simple, easy decision to make -- it’s not,” Gillis said. He intends to take his time before making a selection.
When pressed further, he got a bit more combative.
“Actually, I was gonna pull someone out of this room and hire them, offer them the job right now,” he remarked, according to the Vancouver Sun’s Harrison Mooney.
Regardless of who Gillis picks as the team’s next bench boss, that likely won’t be the only change that’s made this summer. As far as he’s concerned, everyone in the organization played a role in the Canucks recent shortcomings and “everyone will be addressed.”
“The NHL is changing and evolving rapidly,” Gillis added, which is consistent with the sentiment he expressed during his end of season press conference.
All the same, Gillis doesn’t think firing Vigneault will make him any more of a target. As far as he’s concerned, the pressure he’s been under has already been incredibly high for years.
Related:
Official: Canucks fire head coach Vigneault, assistants Bowness and Brown
Here’s an (updated) list of available NHL coaching candidates
