By Jordan Long
The New York Rangers made a surprising move, firing Head Coach Alain Vigneault. Their record was 34-39-9 with 77 points, last in the Metropolitan Division. This was the first time the Rangers failed to make the postseason since 2010. According to NYdailynews.com, Vigneault said, “The Rangers have an incredible fan base and I will cherish many special moments, especially our trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Rangers are going in a different direction, I respect that and I wish them all the best. Thus far in my coaching career I am very grateful that I have had the privilege to work with three great organizations – Vancouver, and two Original Six teams with New York and Montreal. ”
The Rangers hired Vigneault prior to the 2013-2014 season. He had been the Head Coach of the Vancouver Canucks, having success there with a record of 313-170-57. Vancouver went to the playoffs 6 times and even a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2011 where they lost to the Boston Bruins. The Rangers were hoping he would lead this franchise to a Stanley Cup win for the first time since 1994.
Vigneault was an impressive 226-147-37 in his time in the Big Apple. The Rangers went to the playoffs 4 times and had a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2014. Unfortunately, they lost to the L.A. Kings in 5 games.
This season the Rangers at least on paper were supposed to be one of the top teams in the East. That didn’t happen. They missed the playoffs. The Rangers were one of the worst teams in terms of scoring. They scored 2.78 goals per game. Even though they were poor 5 on 5, they were able to set up their power play and score on the man advantage with a power play percentage of 21.2%.
Defensively they allowed opponents to dictate the play and spend time in their own zone. Anytime they tried to take the puck away, rival teams kept the puck in the zone for scoring chances allowing 3.21 goals per game.
The only area were they played well defensively was the power play kill. They didn’t permit teams to set up and score goals. The Rangers power play kill was 81.4%.
The Rangers shouldn’t have fired Vigneault. It was one bad season. Vigneault should been given a chance to show that this year was a fluke. The Rangers figured that he was not the man for the job after this season. Hopefully Vigneault will have another opportunity to coach in the NHL.
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