Former Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault will be behind the bench for Team Canada at the 2019 IIHF World Championship, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.
The rest of the coaching staff is expected to be announced early next week, Dreger added. Jason Botterill, Ron Francis, and Ron Hextall have already been tasked with selecting the team's roster.
Vigneault has been out of coaching since being fired by the Rangers after missing the playoffs in 2017-18, the last of his five seasons in charge. New York is still on the hook for one more year of his contract, which pays him $4.1 million, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.
Prior to his stint in the Big Apple, Vigneault coached the Canucks from 2006-2013, which was the club's most successful era. Along the way, he won five straight division titles, took home the Jack Adams Trophy as coach of the year in 2006-07, and brought the team to within one game of winning the Stanley Cup in 2011.
Vigneault also coached the Montreal Canadiens from 1997-2001.
The 57-year-old could potentially be handed a loaded World Championship roster, as some of Canada's brightest stars - including Connor McDavid, Claude Giroux, Jonathan Huberdeau, Jonathan Toews, Bo Horvat, and Drew Doughty - could miss the NHL playoffs.
The tournament will be held in Bratislava, Slovakia, from May 10-26.
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