New York Rangers Should Have Taken a Risk, Brought on Claude Julien
On Tuesday night, the Montreal Canadiens stunned the hockey world when they fired their coach and brought in another one while sitting in first place. It was a ballsy move, and a ballsy move the New York Rangers should have made.
If you have read this website for any length of time, you would know that I really wanted the New York Rangers to fire Alain Vigneault.
Yes, the Rangers have been winning under his watch, but he consistently makes questionable decisions night in, night out. It’s not that Vigneault’s a bad coach, because he’s not. I’m just a firm believer in the notion that every coach has a shelf life with a team.
And apparently, the Boston Bruins believe in the same philosophy, as they canned one of the best coaches in the league, Claude Julien a few weeks ago. But that’s not the story here.
New York Rangers
The real story is my reaction when I got the out-of-nowhere notification that Canadiens pulled the coaching switcheroo while sitting comfortably in first place in the Atlantic Division.
“Damn, that was a ballsy move,” I exclaimed.
In fact, it was the ballsy move that I wanted the Rangers front office to make so desperately. Julien is a proven winner. He defeated Alain Vigneault in the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, which would have added some more poetic justice to my fantasy. He even went to the finals one more time with the Bruins in 2013.
The fact though that the Canadiens would pull a Cleveland Cavaliers and fire their coach mid-season, a very good coach in Michel Therrien, still blows my mind.
What about the Bruins recent success?
Yes, the Bruins have had a nice little run since the Julien firing. But the Islanders after firing Jack Capuano and the Blues after firing Ken Hitchcock have done the same thing. A mid-season coaching change can be an adrenaline-filled spark plug for a team. Just ask last year’s Pittsburgh Penguins.
And I still don’t care about what the Rangers’ record says they are or what this recent streak has done for their optics. If the team added Julien for the stretch run and beyond, I feel like they would be much better off. Julien would play who deserves to play based on performance, not past reputation.
How this can negatively affect the Rangers
I mean, the Rangers missed out on an amazing coach who would breathe fresh air into the locker room. That’s the first negative affect.
More from Editorials
- Rangers’ Playoff Redemption Recipe: Grit and Fresh Hopes
- Rangers’ Roster Chatter: Who’s Making the Cut and Who’s in the Penalty Box?
- These Rangers must learn Peter Laviolette’s ropes before they can fly
- Filip Chytil Could Take Major Steps in the 2023-24 Season
- Looking forward to the upcoming season for Artemi Panarin
The most practical negative effect to come from this move, at least from a Ranger perspective, is that the way the standings currently sit, the Rangers would be meeting the Habs in the first round of the playoffs if the season ended today.
The Canadiens will be much better and much sharper going forward, for no other reason than that adrenaline I talked about earlier. Carey Price had been struggling. The goal scorers were struggling. It was not a fun situation for the Habs, and Therrien was losing the room, according to reports.
So now, what might have been a cakewalk first round for a dynamic offensive unit like the Rangers might be 20 times harder.
Next: Rangers Trade Targets: Jake Muzzin
And who knows, they might end up regretting making the same ballsy move the Canadiens made on Valentines Day, 2017.