Erik Gustafsson says he didn’t get along with Alain Vigneault

Former Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Erik Gustafsson had some things to say about former coach Alain Vigneault when speaking with the Chicago media today.

The veteran defenseman is back with the Blackhawks after signing a one year, $800,000 deal. Gustafsson was released from his professional tryout contract with the New York Islanders after a reportedly strong camp.

Erik Gustafsson’s 2021 season with the Philadelphia Flyers did not go well after he somehow received a $3 million deal from Chuck Fletcher in the offseason. The offensive defenseman contributed to some horrific team defense in a nightmare year and found himself scratched more often than not.

“The Gus Bus” had 10 points (1 G, 9 A) in 24 games with Philadelphia before getting traded to the Montreal Canadiens at the deadline for a 7th round pick (2022).

His fortunes immediately reversed as he found himself in a new sheltered role, appearing in 16 playoff games (1 G, 2 A) during Montreal’s Stanley Cup Final run.

Erik Gustafsson had this to say about Alain Vigneault:

“We didn’t come well along, me and the coach.”

“We had some different parts to say to each other.”

I’m going to go out on a limb and say the rift might have come from Gustafsson’s inability to play defense in the orange and black. The constant turnovers, poor coverage, and lack of awareness contributed to a disappointing year for Philadelphia.

Erik Gustafsson is hoping to recapture previous magic he had in Chicago, which peaked in 2018-2019. Gus had 60 points (17 G, 43 A) in 79 games that year.