New York Rangers Are Benefiting from Canucks' Foolish Firing of Alain Vigneault

The New York Rangers return to Vancouver for a visit with the Canucks on Saturday night, and the game will mark bench boss Alain Vigneault's second trip as a visitor to the arena in which he coached for seven seasons.

With the second trip comes another bench boss who will oppose him, as John Tortorella was fired and Willie Desjardins was hired during the summer. The Canucks had Vigneault as a staple from 2006 to 2013, and since that point, the team has had two coaches.

It looks like Desjardins will be sticking around for quite sometime, and although he is doing a good job, he shouldn't currently be coaching the Canucks. The person who should be coaching the Canucks is the man who will be standing at the visitors bench, and that is Alain Vigneault.

Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images

The Rangers are more than glad to have Vigneault, and they continue to benefit from the fact that he was made available to them after the 2012-13 campaign.

In his first season with the Rangers, Vigneault was able to change the culture of the team, and he made them a successful hockey club that could have won the Stanley Cup. The 2007 Jack Adams Award winner was able to implement a system that focused on an uptempo offense, and it played to the strengths of players on the roster.

It took a while for the Rangers to adapt, and it included growing pains early on, but they became a fun team to watch once they hit their stride.

Ryan McDonagh exploded offensively and had his best year as a young NHL player. Mats Zuccarello embraced Vigneault's tough-love approach, and the diminutive winger became a new player after being healthy scratched during a game early in the season.

Center Derick Brassard started to improve during the 2013-14 season, and 2014-15 has been a renaissance year for him thus far. He currently is second in team scoring with 22 points, and his five-year, $25 million contract looks even better now than it did during the summer.

Rick Nash even found ways to improve, as he became a strong defensive player during the 2013-14 season after Vigneault decided to use him on the penalty kill. He even realized that he wasn't in the best shape to thrive under Vigneault's system, so he took strides to become quicker and stronger. 

So far his efforts have really paid off, as he's currently second in the NHL in goal scoring with 18 goals. Nash also has become more confident this season, as his average shot is almost seven feet closer to the net than it was last season, according to Sporting Charts.

There are tons of other stories that include the development of Carl Hagelin, the improvement of the power play and so much more, and it just speaks to the fact that Vigneault is a good coach and mentor.

Looking back, the decision to fire Vigneault remains a foolish one, and it's a move that owner Francesco Aquilini likely regrets. Vigneault was axed after the San Jose Sharks swept the Canucks during the 2012-13 playoffs.

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

At the time, it could be rationalized, but two seasons later, it just looks really dumb.

Make no mistake: Alain Vigneault was a scapegoat for the failings of the Canucks, and it should be no surprise that a clean sweep was orchestrated shortly after he left town. The real issue was with former general manager Mike Gillis, an executive whose moves prevented the Canucks from being a competitive team.

While Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Ryan Kesler, Alex Edler, etc. were solid Canucks, Gillis never significantly improved the roster. While they finished with a top record in a number of seasons, he failed to make improvements after his team came up short in the Stanley Cup Final.

There were opportunities for the Canucks to build, but Gillis simply failed to get the job done.

While after a certain period of time it might make sense to let the coach go, this was a situation in which the Canucks acted too quickly. To put it in a Rangers' perspective, letting Vigneault go only to fire Gillis next was like trading Marian Gaborik to the Columbus Blue Jackets only to fire Tortorella at the end of the season.

This is a situation where the Canucks should have kept Vigneault behind the bench and bring in a competent executive who would add talent to the roster. If after that point Vigneault struggled, it would have made sense to fire him. 

If you look at his tenure in Vancouver, Vigneault brought nothing but excellence during his time with the Canucks. It includes a Stanley Cup Final appearance, two Presidents Trophies and six Northwest Division titles.

There was one blip of a season in 2007-08, but it was an anomaly. It is true that the Canucks blew a shot at winning the Stanley Cup versus the Boston Bruins in 2011, but that is something that can't be exclusively pinned on AV.

Obviously the two playoffs after that sealed his fate, but his firing was more about Gillis buying himself time than anything else. Right now the Rangers are in a good spot with Vigneault, and he's a coach who could eventually help them win another Stanley Cup.

He understands what it takes to win, and although the bar is high based on his first season in New York, he is ready for the challenge. Last year he battled adversity early on and overcame it, so there is no reason he can't do the same this year.

So far he's been a great fit for the Blueshirts, and it is safe to say that the best if yet to come for him and the Rangers. It may take time for the team to show their true status as contender, but with Vigneault behind the bench, it is possible for the team to be successful.

Stats via NHL.com and The Hockey News unless otherwise noted.

Tom Urtz Jr. is an NHL columnist for Bleacher Report who also covers the Detroit Red Wings. 

Follow @TomUrtzJr