NY Rangers Hire Coach Alain Vigneault; How He Differs From John Tortorella

The New York Rangers have hired Alain Vigneault to be their new head coach.

The team announced the move in a press conference on Friday, making Vigneault the team's first coach since 2007-08.

"I think he's one of the top coaches in the NHL and I think we're very fortunate to have the opportunity to sign him here in New York," Rangers general manager Glen Sather said about his new coach. "When I started to talk to him, the first thing that came to my mind was he was anxious to become a New York Ranger. He was very interested in coming here, he was interested in our team. He had that sense of ambition I like. He's been a winner [and] he wants to be a winner here. I like his track record. From the digging that we've been able to do, we found out the kind of quality person he is."

Vigneault was the coach of the Vancouver Canucks since 2007-08 and brought the team to prominence throughout his tenure. The Canucks finished atop the Northwest division in six of Vigneault's seven seasons and even won the Presidents' Trophy in two straight years from 2010-12. His best season came in 2010-11 when he coached the team to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals; his team lost against the Boston Bruins. After that deep run, Vigneault's squad failed to get out of the first round of the playoffs; Vancouver was swept out of the playoffs in 2012-13 by the San Jose Sharks.

Vigneault will offer the Rangers a different style of play. While former coach John Tortorella emphasized shot blocking and defensive hockey, Vigneault is more offensive-minded.  Under Tortorella, the team relied heavily on the play of goalie Henrik Lundqvist and its top defenders; Vigneault's team was usually one of the top scoring sides in the league. Most importantly, the arrival of Vigneault should help the Rangers' powerplay. Tortorella was often criticized for being unable to get his team to score with a man-advantage; the Canucks were an elite power play side under Vigneault.

"I like my teams to play the right way," Vigneault said, "which is if you have room to make a play, make a play. If you have space and time to carry the puck, carry the puck. If the other team has the gap on you or they're playing you tight, then sometimes you have to make the high-percentage play and chip those pucks in. I really believe in playing the right way both offensively and defensively. I believe that your top skill players have to be given a little bit more latitude. They have to understand the game, they have to understand the time of the game they have to play higher percentage, but they also have to be given that latitude to make something out of nothing. That's why those guys have the high-end skill, and you have to give them that leeway."