Arniel played a pivotal role in the club's 1981 Memorial Cup championship with a hat trick in an 8–2 win over the Kitchener Rangers on May 10, 1981.

After four years with the Sabres, Arniel returned to the Moose as their new head coach when he was hired by their parent club, the Vancouver Canucks.

Arniel led the team to the league's best regular season record in 2008–09 and a berth in the Calder Cup finals, earning him the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as coach of the year.

[4] In the summer of 2013, Arniel left the Canucks organization, along with head coach Alain Vigneault, to join the New York Rangers.

[6] On August 6, 2018, reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Washington Capitals, hired Arniel as an assistant coach to replace Lane Lambert.