The Yankee Canuck takes a hard look at Alain Vigneault’s coaching record and comes up with this:

In six seasons, Vigneault has guided his teams to the bottom third in offense five times; four of those teams didn’t made the post season. Of the two teams that did, neither has gone past the second round. One could argue that, in both Vancouver and Montreal, he had few offensive talents at his disposal, but is not the job of a coach to make the best with the players he has (I believe that’s what got Francis the nod as a Jack Adams winner in Phoenix)?

Additionally, in two seasons with Vancouver we have watched him misuse certain players (Naslund, Linden), verbally call out other players (Cooke, Bulis, Bieksa, Mitchell, Luongo) and has a reoccurring problem of creating effective lines. It’s still an easy argument to make that the only reason Vancouver has had any level of success under Vigneault is because he has Luongo playing in his prime (and Vigneault managed to compromise that edge when he overworked Lui badly over the final two months of last season). As Jim Jamieson said in the Province yesterday, “When a team loses seven of its last eight games — including several no-shows — with a playoff spot in the balance, questions have to be asked.”

A very good analysis, and one that generates a number of questions. You can read the complete post here.

P.S. The Jack Adams Award winner is selected annually by the NHL Broadcasters Association (NHLBA) but there’s very little information about them on the web and no membership list that either myself of the Yankee Canuck have been able to find. If anyone can provide more information about that organization, it would be much appreciated. Cheers. (12:56pm PT Update: That was quick—someone has already passed on the information I needed. Thanks!)