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New York Rangers: Losing may be just what the team needs

By John Williams

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 04: Head coach Alain Vigneault of the New York Rangers looks on from the bench against the Ottawa Senators in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 4, 2017 in New York City. The New York Rangers won 4-1. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MAY 04: Head coach Alain Vigneault of the New York Rangers looks on from the bench against the Ottawa Senators in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 4, 2017 in New York City. The New York Rangers won 4-1. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The New York Rangers are currently in the middle of a sizeable skid to open their 2017-2018 campaign. Alain Vigneault is one of the main reasons they are where they are. The team will keep him unless this season begins to spiral out of control.

There are a lot of things that are wrong with this current Rangers team.

Through six games, many of their core players such as Chris Kreider, J.T. Miller, Pavel Buchnevich, and Jimmy Vesey have not found the back of the net. The goaltending at times has been a bit shaky and the defense hasn’t really been helping too much either.

But the biggest reason the Rangers are where they are, last place in the Eastern Conference, is because of their head coach.

Alain Vigneault has done some really dumb things over the course of his Rangers tenure. He’s played Tanner Glass in the lineup over guys like Pavel Buchnevich and J.T. Miller. He’s been hellbent on leaving Dan Girardi glued to Ryan McDonagh at all times. He’s even played Nick Holden and Marc Staal in late game situations after they blew multiple games earlier in the same series.

None of that compares to what has gone on to start this season.

Must read: Five troubling early season signs

Vigneault left the McDonagh and Shattenkirk pair together for two games before taking breaking them up and pairing McDonagh with players like Holden, Staal, and Steven Kampfer. He’s had Kevin Shattenkirk playing third pair minutes with Marc Staal and has had games where Shattenkirk ranked fifth in ice time at even strength.

When you look at the forward group, it gets even worse.

First off, he has completely mismanaged an already worrisome center core. He played rookie center Filip Chytil for 11 minutes over two games and decided he wasn’t ready for the NHL. Next, he proceeded to play Kevin Hayes in a defensive role –a role that does not fit his skill set– and put David Desharnais –a veteran with limited upside– in a top-six role.

Related story: A list of Alain Vigneault’s lineup debacles

He even opted to play just three centers in his lineup twice already, allowing him to roll with an extra defenseman instead. This includes one instance where Anthony DeAngelo, the seventh defenseman, didn’t get one shift at even strength.

And yesterday morning, Vigneault made his most questionable move yet. He broke up the KZB line–you know, the only line that was producing offense– as he put Pavel Buchnevich on the fourth line.  Yes, that’s right, he broke up one of the most dominant lines the Rangers have seen since Jaromir Jagr, Michael Nylander, and Martin Straka were lacing them up on Broadway.

With all of this said, it is abundantly clear that Vigneault needs to have his contract terminated.

And the only way this is gonna happen, unfortunately, is if they lose.

Listen, it makes me sick to my stomach to think this way. There is nothing I want more in this life than to see the Rangers win the Stanley Cup. With that said, I know that if they are gonna have any chance to do that, Vigneault can’t be behind the bench.

Sometimes you have to break it down to build it back up again.

Related story: How long of a leash does Vigneault deserve?

Vigneault’s coaching and personnel decisions have made games extremely painful to watch.

Vigneault too often plays his favorites instead of playing those who actually deserve to play. He continuously fails to put his players in a position to succeed, forcing them to play in roles that don’t suit their playing style. Not only that, but he doesn’t trust youngsters on a team that is loaded with youth. That’s extremely dangerous.

The Rangers need to have a bench boss that allows his young guns to play, even if they make mistakes. Vigneault doesn’t do that. In fact, he does the opposite. If a veteran makes a mistake he doesn’t miss a shift. If it’s a youngster, however, they’ll be glued to the bench in no time.

How long of a leash does he have left? I’m not sure, but hopefully, it is getting shorter and shorter with every loss.

Next: Don't panic, but it's time to panic

It’s his unrivaled arrogance that got him canned in Vancouver, and the same thing will be his undoing in New York as well. Hopefully, he’ll be gone sooner rather than later.

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