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- Penguins bury Senators to take 3-1 lead
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- Jimmy Howard tallies 39 saves as Red Wings down Blackhawks in Game 3
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Canucks fire Vigneault, assistant coaches for early playoff exits
Thu, 23 May 2013 15:01:26 +0000
Vancouver, BC, Canada (4E Sports) - Vancouver Canucks president and general manager Mike Gillis cited first-round exits in the past two seasons for the decision to fire coach Alain Vigneault and assistant coaches Rick Bowness and Newell Brown Wednesday.
"We're in a results-oriented business, and if you look at the last two playoffs that we have been in, we were the higher-seeded team that lost the first two games at home," said Gillis.
They were swept by the San Jose Sharks two weeks ago, and were eliminated by the eighth-seeded Los Angeles Kings in five games in the first round in 2011-12.
"When you see that the previous season, we thought it might be an anomaly," Gillis said. "We wanted to make sure they had every opportunity they could to succeed."
Gillis noted they have a good hockey team but didn't get results. However, he acknowledged that under Vigneault, the franchise had the best five years in terms of winning percentage and getting to the Stanley Cup Final .
Vigneault is the franchise's all-time leader in coaching wins, winning percentage and career playoff wins. He won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's top coach in his first season.
In Vigneault's seven seasons with the Canucks, they made the playoffs six times, winning the Presidents' Trophy twice and six Northwest Division titles. Vigneault had a 313-170-57 record, including a team-record 54 wins and 117 points in 2010-11.
But under his direction, Vancouver split 12 series, including four losses with home-ice advantage, and has one win in its past 11 games since winning Game 5 of the 2011 Final.
"I am proud of many of the things we accomplished as a group these past seven seasons in Vancouver and only wish we were able to win the Canucks' first Stanley Cup," Vigneault said in a statement.
Assistant coach Darryl Williams, who is in charge of video, and goaltending coach Roland Melanson remain with the team. In three seasons, Melanson made key style changes with Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider.
