Canadiens News: Pascal Vincent Named Coach Of The Year

Things are rolling for the Montreal Canadiens, and that statement goes beyond their surprise appearance in the 2025 NHL Playoffs.

While the Habs wait for their first-round series versus the Washington Capitals to get underway, their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket, have clinched the top spot in the league standings, and have been given a bye into the second round.

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Consequently, Rocket head coach Pascal Vincent was the winner of the Louis A.R.Pieri Award, as the AHL’s most outstanding coach for the 2024-25 season.

La Ligue américaine de hockey a annoncé aujourd’hui que Pascal Vincent est le lauréat du prix Louis A.R. Pieri, remis au meilleur entraîneur de la AHL pour la saison 2024-2025
📘https://t.co/Xo5HCaP0nx

The American Hockey League announced today that Pascal Vincent is the winner… pic.twitter.com/yybkLGii3V

— xyz – Rocket de Laval (@RocketLaval) April 21, 2025

Not only did the Rocket secure the North Division, Eastern Conference, and AHL regular-season championship, Vincent coached them to their best season in franchise history.

The Rocket maintained a 48-19-3-2 record, good for 101 points in 72 games. In other words, the Rocket earned points in more than 70 percent of their games. They cored 229 goals, while only allowing their opponents to respond with 178 goals of their own, which equates to an impressive 51-goal difference. It’s also worth noting the Rocket were the most penalized team in the AHL, which is rare for a first-place team.

Pascal Vincent Impact

The players deserve a lot of the credit, but it must be said that Vincent is the first Laval Rocket coach to mostly focus on drafted players, rather than relying on hired mercenaries that only spend a year or two with the team.

There were a few veterans in the mix that probably won’t end up plying for the Canadiens, including Alex Barre-Boulet and Laurent Dauphin, however, the rest of the lineup is mostly populated with young players that could one day make an impact in the NHL.

Players such as Florian Xhekaj, who managed to score 25 goals as a rookie who was mostly used on the fourth line. Unsurprisingly, Xhekaj also led the Rocket in penalty minutes, with 175.

He also gave diminutive forward Sean Farrell an opportunity to prove himself on the top line once injuries took hold. Prior to the change in the lineup, Farrell struggled to earn ice time, let alone score. The 23-year-old playmaker responded to the promotion in force, finishing the year with 20 goals and 24 assists in 67 games.

The same can be said about Jared Davidson, though his resurgence took place almost immediately after Vincent took over as head coach. After earning just 11 and five assists in his rookie year, Davidson upped his production to the tune of 24 goals and 21 assists in his sophomore campaign.

There are many other prospects who enjoyed a very encouraging season under Vincent, including newcomer Adam Engstrom, as well as cerebral centre Owen Beck. Logan Mailloux and Joshua Roy ended up back in the AHL, and though that must have surely disappointed the offensively-inclined players, they were kept on the right track by Vincent, who urged them to focus on the task at hand, rather than dreaming of the future.

And then there’s the play from goaltender Cayden Primeau, arguably the best goaltender in the league from the very moment the Montreal Canadiens assigned him to the AHL.

Jacob Fowler will eventually take over as the starter, but there’s something to be said about the newfound confidence instilled in Primeau. The 25-year-old finished the year with a sparkling 21-2-3 record, paired with an impressive 1.96 goals against average, and a fantastic .926 save percentage.

Beyond Vincent and the players, we should also send some praise John Sedgwick’s way. The lone holdover from the Bergevin era did not waste any time finding a replacement when former head coach Jean-Francois Houle left the team on short notice to join Clarkson University in the NCAA. Not only did he pick the perfect coach, he also quickly solved the goaltending issue that had plagued the team for more than a season when he signed free agent Connor Hughes to serve as a stabilizing presence alongside Jakub Dobes and company.

The extra focus given to Laval paid off in spades, as several of their key prospects are now set to enjoy a potentially dominant playoff run, and perhaps even a Calder Cup Trophy.

Enjoying this type of immediate success is sure to lead to many NHL teams adding Vincent to their potential head coach list, especially since the turnaround for NHL coaches seems to be closer to a season or two in this modern sports landscape, but for now, the Canadiens can rest easy knowing they do have a legitimate contingency plan should things go awry with Martin St-Louis in the NHL.