Tortorella's time over in NY - who's the next boss?
After 5 seasons and 359 games here in New York - John Tortorella’s time run out. He replaced Tom Renney in 2009 and the Rangers made the playoffs four out of five seasons with him. His best achievement was the finishing 1st in the Eastern Conference and eventually the ECF in 2012. No matter what, Torts never let you down. I’m gonna miss those interviews for sure. You will be missed Torts!
Now the question is, who will be running things in next season? GM Glen Sather told that they wanna have a new Coach for the Draft time this year. That means we have a full month to debate who’s the best guy for this job! Here are the few candidates who could take the job:
Alain Vigneault:
52-year-old Vigneault spent last 7 seasons with the Vancouver Canucks. During those years, the Canucks missed the playoffs only once but just fell short winning the Cup in the Game 7 of 2011’s SCF. Before that he coached the Canadiens 1997-2001 and was the Senators assistant coach 1992-1996. He’s done a good job with the Canucks. 5 Division titles along with the President’s Trophy in 2011. His system would bring more offense and overall Vigneault is a valued coach. He was interviewed by Glen Sather in 2002 but the Rangers selected Bryan Trottier that time.
Lindy Ruff:
53-year-old Ruff played three seasons with the Rangers during 1989-1991. He started his coaching career in Florida where he served four years as the Panthers assistant coach. After that he spent the next 15 years in Buffalo. During those fifteen years, the Sabres made the playoffs eight times. The Sabres lost the SCF in 1998 but since the 2007 they haven’t make the 2nd round. Ruff was fired during the last season and Ron Rolston replaced him. Compared to Tortorella’s system, I don’t see much difference there. He’s a very competitive coach who has experience but is still looking for his first Cup.
Guy Boucher:
41-year-old Boucher has no playing experience but has been pretty successful during his years in QMJHL, AHL and NHL. In his first year as an NHL head coach, the Lightning made all the way to ECF but lost to the Bruins 4-3. After that the Lightning didn’t make the playoffs next year and this year he was fired after a bad start to the season. What I’ve been reading is that Boucher is very liked among the players. He runs 1-3-1 forecheck which is very rare if not unique in the NHL. His system is also much more offense oriented. It would be interesting to see how well he would do on Broadway?
Dave Tippett:
51-year-old Tippett has been an NHL head coach since 2002 when he started with the Dallas Stars. After six seasons in Dallas he coached the Phoenix Coyotes the next four years. In 2012, Tippett led the Coyotes to the Western Conference Finals but this year the team didn’t make the playoffs. Tippett’s current contract with the Coyotes will end on June 30 and after that he’s free to move - if he wants. His system is quite conservative but it has been also quite effective. The Rangers are way more talented team than the Coyotes and with Lundqvist in the net - this could really work out!
Dallas Eakins:
46-year-old Eakins is a hot coach at the moment. He played 120 NHL games (4 games with the Rangers) with eight different teams. He was the Maple Leafs assistant coach 2005-2008 and the last four years he has coached the Toronto Marlies in the AHL. Last season the Marlies made their way to the AHL Finals but lost 4-0 to the Norfolk Admirals. This season their season ended in the 3rd round of the playoffs. Many NHL teams already have interest towards Eakins and presumably he will coach some NHL team next year. Is he too “inexperienced” for the Broadway - we’ll find out that soon!
So here are some of the candidates to take on the job. The next head coach could be one of those five above but there are other coaches out there as well. Mike Babcock, Paul Maurice, Ken Gernander, Doug Weight, you name it. But for now, I guess we just have to wait and see.
Let’s Go Rangers!