The pieces of the puzzle are starting to come together.
Pascal Vincent has agreed to join the Blue Jackets as an associate coach on a three-year contract through the 2023-24 NHL season, departing the Winnipeg Jets organization after ten years. He spent his first five years in Winnipeg as an assistant coach with the Jets, and he was then named head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. Vincent's teams went 155-139-31 in five years, and he was also the recipient of the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL's Coach of the Year in 2017-18.
"Pascal is very highly thought of within the coaching community and a guy I identified right away as someone I thought would be a great addition to our club, so I'm excited to have him join our staff," said Brad Larsen in a press release. "He is very smart, experienced and passionate about the game and beyond that, is just a tremendous person, and I'm really looking forward to working with him every day."
In his playing days, Vincent was a center. He played six seasons in the QMJHL, tallying 15-43-58 in 252 games. After one season in the ECHL (4-7-11 in 57 games), Vincent hung up his skates for seven years. He played seven games in the QSPHL (now LNAH) during the 1999-2000 season before retiring from professional hockey and stepping into a coaching role. Prior to his days in Winnipeg/Manitoba, Vincent spent 11 years as a head coach in the QMJHL. The first eight years were with Cape Breton, and the final three were with Montreal.
Our own Dan Dukart called Vincent coming to the Blue Jackets on Monday.
