Former Tampa Bay Lightning forward Vaclav "Vinny" Prospal is returning to the NHL as an assistant coach. Prospal was hired by the St. Louis Blues to serve on Jim Montgomery's staff during the 2026-27 season, earning his first coaching job at the NHL level. The now 51 year old's coaching career started over a decade ago, when he coached his son Vinny's team, the Tampa Scorpions 14U AA. After a few seasons with the Tampa Scorpions, Prospal returned to his native Czechia to coach at the professional level for the first time. He took over behind the bench for HC Motor České Budějovice, the team he began his career with during his youth. Prospal then returned to North America ahead of the 2023-24 season as an assistant coach with the Rochester Americans, the Buffalo Sabres' American Hockey League affiliate. As a player, Prospal had three different stints with the Lightning during the 2000s. Across those stints, he appeared in 468 games for the Bolts, scoring 127 goals and 371 points along with 268 penalty minutes. Prospal also played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Ottawa Senators, Florida Panthers, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, New York Rangers, and Columbus Blue Jackets, but never won a Stanley Cup during his playing career. Now, he'll look to correct that from behind the bench.
