New York Rangers assistant coach Ulf Samuelsson signed on with the Carolina Hurricanes organization’s AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers as their new head coach.
We all knew this offseason was going to see some personnel movement, but little did we know the first person to leave the organization this offseason would be Samuelsson. The 52-year-old native of Sweden had been the Rangers assistant coach for the past 3 seasons. The former defenseman’s responsibilities included the penalty kill and the defenseman coach. It is also worth noting that 2 years ago, before the Hurricanes hired Bill Peters as their head coach, Ulf Samuelsson was considered a series candidate for the position.
“Ulf has built a very strong coaching resume during a decade behind the bench in the AHL, NHL and Swedish leagues. He has a proven history of helping to develop young players and understands the organizational culture that we are building here” said Hurricanes general manager Ron Francis in the team’s press release.
This will be Samuelsson’s first head coaching job in North America. Before he came to the Rangers in the 2013-2014 season, he was the head coach for Modo (Mats Zuccarello’s former team!) in the Swedish Hockey League for 2 seasons.
The Right Move for Samuelsson
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You have to be extremely happy for Ulfie, a guy who grew up as a coach in the Rangers organization—first with the Wolfpack and then eventually with the big club. This move, in my mind, was a no-brainier for him. After a couple of offseasons trying to get an NHL head coaching job and coming up short, getting a head coaching job in the AHL will give teams a chance to see what this guy can do at the helm, instead of just as an assistant.
This move is also the right decision for him for job security reasons. Given the way the New York Rangers played late last season and in the playoffs, if the team starts off next season slow, there is a chance the whole coaching staff could be canned.
This could also be a good thing for the Rangers, too. For all accounts and purposes, Samuelsson did a very good job with the Rangers over the past 3 years. However, the Rangers penalty kill had a very, very bad year, finishing 26th in the league. Also, this past season—and the end of the previous season—saw a steep decline of defenders Dan Girardi and Marc Staal. Although those two things could be completely unrelated to Ulf Samuelslon—especially the Girardi and Staal thing—it may be good for the New York Rangers to get a fresh voice there.
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Who’s Next?
Although there has been not been any word from the team about who they may hire as Samuelsson’s replacement, a lot of the Rangers’ beat writers are throwing out the name of former Ranger and current Hartford Wolfpack’s assistant coach Jeff Beukeboom. Beukeboom has been an assistant down in Hartford since 2012 and has been a key factor in the development of defenders Dylan McIlarth and Brady Skjei.
I think the Beukeboom would be a solid replacement for Samulesson, and definitely a move I think the Rangers should consider. Expect the assistant coaching situation to be very hush hush. One would think the team may name a new assistant coach sometime before the NHL Entry Draft on June 24th.
Until then, we will keep our eyes peeled for you guys.