It has been reported for some time that a contract extension for Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault is imminent, and now Sportsnet has learned it's a deal that will keep the former Jack Adams Trophy winner in Vancouver through the 2012-2013 season.

Vigneault is entering the final year of his deal (signed a one-year extension last summer) and it's expected he'll sign a new three-year contract extension sometime during the preseason, which starts on Monday.

This is solid job security for a coach who many thought was ready to be fired in January when the Canucks were going through a major skid. The deal should also put to bed any thoughts that Vigneault isn't general manger Mike Gillis's man. Gillis inherited Vigneault from the Dave Nonis regime and surprised more than a few experts when he kept him on board and gave him a one year extension. It's also believed that Gillis went to bat for the coach at the start of 2009 when there seemed to be a lot of pressure to let him go.