Islanders Hire Vigneault as New Coach

The Islanders announced last week that they have hired experienced NHL coach Alain Vigneault and has signed him to a 3 year contract. The Islanders finished out of the playoff race, but GM Tony Chiu insisted while AV was a great hire for the team, it was never unhappy with the job predecessor Peter Deboer did.

"We're very pleased with having AV join us behind the bench, his experience and detail for the game will be a great addition for this team. He's respected around the league, and players love playing for him. We hope the fans will embrace having AV and we're convinced he's the right choice for this team. We have a young team, and we look forward to having AV work with our young players to make sure they get better at both ends of the ice, as well as off-ice character."

"We want to send our best wishes to Peter Deboer though. Last year wasn't so great, but that playoff run we had the year before was wonderful, and we couldn't have done it without him. We're very very fortunate to have AV sign on, because Peter was also a great coach, and as much as we'd liked to have kept him, he received a great offer from another team, and we wish nothing for him but the best"

Financial details regarding Vigneault's deal with the Islanders were not fully disclosed, but it's believed to be in the multi-million dollar range, making him one of the highest paid coaches in the league. It was also believed that league assistance was involved in the hiring of the coach for the Islanders, as there were technical difficulties in the Islander front office at that time, and league assistance was requested to make sure the Islanders didn't go into pre-season without a head coach.