Alain Vigneault's job on the line if Canucks lose Game 4

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      This evening, some Vancouver Canucks fans are probably wondering if the team will ever win a Stanley Cup in their lifetime.

      Since entering the NHL in 1970-71, the team has often been dreadful, sometimes been above average, and was really only among the elite squads over a sustained period of time under coach Alain Vigneault.

      But Vigneault could never take the team all the way. He oversaw the collapse against the Bruins at the end of the 2010–11 Stanley Cup final, the early departure against the Los Angeles Kings last year, and the looming elimination by the Sharks in the first round this year.

      Vigneault decided to start Cory Schneider tonight in Game 3 even though Roberto Luongo played exceptionally well in the first two games of the series.

      "Roberto wasn’t the reason we lost those last two games," Vigneault told reporters. "Cory was healthy. He was the guy I wanted to go with. It was my decision.”

      Schneider ended up allowing some soft goals in the third period on the way to a 5-2 loss. This has put Vigneault's job in jeopardy.

      Luongo said in a postgame interview that there are a "couple of guys playing their hearts out", but Vancouver needs all 20 to show up for Game 4.

      The veteran goalie might as well have said that some of the guys are phoning it in—and that's not good enough at this time of the year, especially considering their multimillion-dollar annual salaries.

      If the players aren't performing up to their abilities, the usual management response is to find a new coach.

      If Vancouver loses on Tuesday (May 7) in San Jose, it's hard to see how Vigneault could possibly return for another season in Vancouver.

      Comments

      19 Comments

      Susan Callin

      May 5, 2013 at 10:50pm

      how can you blame Alain? I now live in Victoria. Was a season ticket holder forever.
      The Sedins have no passion. The whole team needs to play
      Ike they have pride, love of the game and respect for their coach, and all of the people in the in their lives.

      Waitin4ever

      May 5, 2013 at 11:27pm

      It's Mike Gillis that needs to get fired, he 's done nothing to improve the 2011 team which was so close. Sedin's have got nothing left and have never been playoff performers. Trade them and start the rebuild.

      nuckleheads

      May 6, 2013 at 12:00am

      How can you blame AV? Well. lets see, its he that is supposed to coach this team, its gillis that brought this crap team together. If the Sedins suck so bad, which they do, why does AV keep rewarding them with ice time? So I guess the policy in the organization is that if you are useless, like the sedins, raymons, edler, hamhuis, etc etc, you get more ice time. Wow,,..,talk about accountability..just the same as the linden,quinn,mclean ,lumme country clubbers of yesteryear.
      $3 years of not winning anything speaks volumes. There is no more room for excuses or hope. They are done. The fans, who keep supporting a loser organization ,are getting what they deserve. Glad I washed my hands of them 15 years ago.It's the delusional fans who keep this choke team alive year after year. When you support crap, you get nothing but crap back. It's not hard to figure it out.

      nuckleheads

      May 6, 2013 at 12:02am

      Correction 43 years of not winning a thing*, well that's self explanatory. The canucks probably think the
      "presidents choice" trophy is the ultimate goal. LOL

      Richard Parker

      May 6, 2013 at 12:04am

      Canucks are down 3-0 in the first round. No problem. They'll bounce back and win next 12 games, or a least lose the next one with a token struggle. One thing about the Canucks - they never give up until they start losing.

      Season tickets for next year, oh yeah!

      Lotto Max

      May 6, 2013 at 3:18am

      There's no more excuses! Even if the Canucks win game 4, they will probably still get eliminated by the Sharks in game 5 or 6 unless the whole team decides to wake up & get serious.

      Watching the Maple Leafs vs the Bruins is way more entertaining!!!

      The Broom

      May 6, 2013 at 6:02am

      Vigneault should be fired if Canucks are swept. The coach must have these multi-millionaires prepared for playoffs to play at a higher level. Instead, this talented "regular-season team" plays with little desire come playoff time. Alain has been one of my all-time faves, but, it's a cut-throat results-oriented league.

      David L.

      May 6, 2013 at 6:05am

      Its a pity Alain has done the best anyone could do with what he was given. Mr. Gillis has done nothing and should be the first to go, as for the Sedin twins they do have skills but are too "flowery" without enough "Raw Passion" .
      Unfortunately its time for a complete rebuild of the team as this year is a write off.

      KelownaKeith

      May 6, 2013 at 6:15am

      Mike Gillis need to be fired. And then the new GM needs to hire a new coach. The Hodgson for Kassian trade is looking awful. He should have gotten something for Luongo that would have helped the team in the Playoffs.
      AV's head scratching line combinations are puzzling. It's a simple game: Get pucks and bodies to the Net. Forget about the fancy passing displays that usually end in turnovers, especially on the Power Play.

      JMW

      May 6, 2013 at 7:04am

      Living in Ottawa, I'm not either for or against the Canucks. I'd like to see them win the Stanley Cup simply because they've never won it before (I was happy for LA last year...).

      But, living in Ottawa, I noticed a lot of similarities between the Canucks and the Sens in the last couple of years. Both went to the final and got their heads handed to them. Both made the playoffs the following year, but exited in the first round. Ottawa missed the playoffs the year after; Vancouver got in this year but were in danger of missing at one point. Both collapsed in the playoffs.

      In Ottawa, the same core never threatened to touch Lord Stanley's Cup again.

      Time to start over.