The New York Rangers have liked what they’ve seen from head coach Alain Vigneault. Tuesday morning, Rangers management officially announced a contract extension for Vigneault through the 2019-20 season.
New York Rangers extend head coach Alain Vigneault through 2019-20 season
The two-year extension also has a $2 million annual pay raise.
Photo by Marianne Helm/Getty Images
The two-year extension, as his current contract ends after next season, also holds a $2 million annual raise for Vigneault, who has an overall 175-97-23 record since taking over as the Rangers head coach in 2013. During Vigneault’s three-year career with New York, the Rangers have made the playoffs three times and have been seeded no lower than third in the Metropolitan Division postseason standings.
The extension should come as no surprise for Rangers fans, because why fix what isn’t broken? Vigneault took over the Rangers after the former Vancouver Canucks head coach swapped jobs with New York’s former bench boss, John Tortorella, in 2013. Tortorella’s run in Vancouver ended disastrously before ending up as head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets last season.
In Vigneault’s first season as head coach, the Rangers went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final but lost in five games to the Los Angeles Kings. In 2014-15, Vigneault helped New York to 113 points, the highest point total in Rangers’ regular season history, en route to a Presidents’ Trophy for the first time since 1993-94.
Through 13 complete seasons as a head coach in his career, Vigneault has only missed the playoffs in three of them.
The Rangers are currently sitting at 63 points with the Eastern Conference’s first wild card position, two points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for third place.
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