Half of a potential coach swap is complete.

The New York Rangers will hire Alain Vigneault and not Mark Messier as their next coach to replace the fired John Tortorella, multiple sources indicated Saturday.

The final details on the contract are still being worked out so the Rangers were not yet in a position to confirm the hiring but an agreement in principal has been reached. It's not clear when a formal announcement might be made, though that could be Monday.

Meanwhile, Tortorella is a top candidate to replace Vigneault in Vancouver after reportedly interviewing well earlier this week with Canucks GM Mike Gillis.

Vigneault, 52, made a strong impression on Rangers GM Glen Sather during his interview Tuesday in La Quinta, Calif. Vigneault had also been a frontrunner for the vacant Stars job but on Friday he informed Dallas GM Jim Nill he wished to withdraw his name from consideration for that position despite reportedly receiving a lucrative offer.

Vigneault was in New York on Friday, reportedly meeting with Rangers' owner Jim Dolan.

Vigneault went 313-170-57 with the Canucks from 2006 until he was fired May 22 after the Canucks' second straight first-round playoff exit. The Canucks won six division titles in Vigneault's seven seasons behind their bench but their playoff record was 33-32.

The Quebec City native, who won the Jack Adams Award in 2007 as the NHL's top coach, brought the Canucks to within one game of the Stanley Cup in 2011 before losing Game 7 on home ice after they had won the first two games of the series against the Bruins.

Overall, Vigneault has compiled a 422-288-35-61 record with the Canucks and Canadiens (1997-2000) and is known for giving his offensive players freedom to be creative and allowing them to handle their own problems in the dressing room.

His personality, particularly with the media, is the opposite of the gruff and combative Tortorella.

Sather dismissed Tortorella after the players made it clear during exit interviews that Tortorella's fiery style had worn thin on them. Not helping matters was franchise goalie Henrik Lundqvist's lukewarm reply of "We'll see" when asked about negotiating a contract extension this summer.

Tortorella, who turns 55 on June 24, went 171-115-29 with the Rangers after replacing Tom Renney with 21 games remaining in the 2008-09 season. The Rangers made the postseason in four of the past five years and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals in 2012 for the first time since 1997. This season, the Bruins eliminated them in five games in the second round.

Overall, Tortorella has a 410-340-37-67 record and led the Lightning to that franchise's only Stanley Cup in 2004, the same year he won the Jack Adams Award.

Sather also interviewed Messier, the Hall of Fame captain who led the team to its last Stanley Cup in 1994 and a special assistant to Sather since Aug. 12, 2009. Messier, who acknowledged his interest in the job Friday, has no NHL coaching experience.

The Rangers had also received permission to interview former Sabres coach Lindy Ruff and had been expected to talk to Kings assistant John Stevens, the former Flyers coach.

Vigneault becomes the sixth coach hired by Sather, including himself, since he became the Rangers' president/GM on June 1, 2000. This marks the first time he's made an off-season hire since naming Bryan Trottier coach for the 2002-03 season. Trottier lasted just 54 games in his only NHL head coaching job.

Still to be determined is the fate of Rangers assistant coach Mike Sullivan, though it's likely he would follow Tortorella to Vancouver. The assumption is that goalie coach Benoit Allaire, closely aligned with Lundqvist, would be retained.