By Jordan Long
The New York Rangers have their new Head Coach. The job had been opened since the Rangers fired Alain Vigneault on April 8th after failing to make the playoffs. Vigneault was the Rangers Head Coach the last 5 years.
Vigneault was successful as the Head Coach of the Rangers, guiding them to a 226-147-37 record. The Rangers made the postseason 4 times under him including a trip to the Stanly Cup Final in 2014, but the Rangers lost to the L.A. Kings in 5 games. This year was the only season Vigneault didn’t make the postseason with New York, missing the playoffs by 20 points.
The Rangers thought that it was time to let him go. It was not the right decision. It was one poor year and they should have let Vigneault coach another year to show that it was a fluke. Management didn’t see it that way and decided to go a different direction.
The Rangers hired David Quinn. Quinn was Boston University’s Head Coach the past 5 years. His record was 105-67-21. Boston went to three NCAA Regional Finals and was in the title game in 2015 but lost to Providence 4-3.
Quinn has never been an NHL Head Coach but has NHL coaching experience. He was with the Colorado Avalanche as an assistant coach in 2013. Quinn knows how to coach a hockey team and proved that with Boston University.
The Rangers are taking a chance on Quinn. They would like to have a coach who can win now. Quinn may not be able to turn the Rangers around in 1 season. It will take a few seasons. The Rangers front office must be patient. Quinn needs at least 3 years for the Rangers players’ to have enough time to learn his system and hopefully improve in the standings.
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