Canucks retain coach Alain

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Vancouver Canucks coach Alain Vigneault gets a new lease on life - Photo by Jason Payne,PNGVancouver Canucks has given Coach Alain Vigneault a two year contract extension.

The veteran coach signed a contract extension with the Canucks on Wednesday, ending any speculation on whether he would be back behind the NHL team's bench next season.

"We're looking for some solutions — and we're going to find those solutions," said Vigneault from his off-season home in Gatineau, Que., during a conference call.

The Canucks have posted the league's best regular-season record for the last two seasons under Vigneault, but his job status was unclear after Vancouver was bounced from the first round of the playoffs by the eighth-place Kings. The Canucks did not disclose terms, but Vigneault said it was a two-year extension.

Analyzing the season publicly for the first time since the team was eliminated, Vigneault said the Canucks were not able to play "in the moment" to the same extent that they did while advancing to the 2010-11 Stanley Cup final.

The long playoffs a year ago took their toll mentally and physically, and the club was never able to repeat its early-January win over the Boston Bruins, when all players had their "best game" against the team that denied the Canucks the Cup.

Vigneault said the Canucks suffered from the same woes that befell the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings when they made long runs to the finals. He and general manager Mike Gillis plan to dissect the problem more thoroughly to avoid a repeat in the future.

"We're trying to see if, maybe through a bit more scientific approach to different elements, we will be able to get our team in a better situation to have success here as we move forward," Vigneault said.

Vigneault, a 51-year-old Quebec City native, had come under criticism after the Canucks were eliminated early after reaching the Stanley Cup final last season. He has guided the Canucks to a 287-155-50 record, the highest winning percentage in franchise history (.634) and five Northwest Division titles.