New York Rangers: Should Alain Vigneault be fired?

The New York Rangers season is off to an awful start and Alain Vigneault’s time in New York is running out. A coaching change could be what’s best for everyone involved.

Nobody expected the New York Rangers to begin the first two weeks of the season this poorly. An offseason of changes raised question marks, but the talented roster seemed ready to put up solid results.

Unfortunately, the team’s head coach is doing everything in his power to set the team further away from their goal. Alain Vigneault’s decision making and coaching schemes have been more of a detriment than anything to his young, talented roster.

Now, the question on everybody’s mind is whether or not Vigneault is the man to lead the Rangers moving forward. There is skepticism about potential replacement candidates and the effect of making such drastic changes this early in the season. However, if things do not change, and quickly, the bench boss may be on his way out of New York.

Members of the Blue Line Station crew give their take on whether or not Alain Vigneault should be axed as the New York Rangers head coach in today’s roundtable.

Brandon Cohen – Yes

Kicking off what I expect to be many people agreeing about a topic that should be controversial, I would like to say yes, the New York Ranger should fire Alain Vigneault. Though I am concerned about the possibility of Scott Arniel or (more likely) Lindy Ruff taking over on a non-interim basis, I am more concerned about another wasted season for Henrik Lundqvist.

Henrik Lundqvist is not getting any younger, and Alain Vigneault continues to do him no favors. After spending last postseason butchering the Rangers’ chances of defeating the Ottawa Senators in the playoffs, Vigneault has managed to deploy his talent even worse this season. Developing, potential future star Pavel Buchnevich is on the fourth line, prized free agent signing Kevin Shattenkirk is on the third defensive pair, and Ryan McDonagh has a rotating series of defensive partners.

There is no aspect of the team that we can point to and say Alain Vigneault is doing positive work. At this point, he is detrimental to the team’s success, and that must be stopped before it’s too late. It’s time for the New York Rangers to fire Alain Vigneault and provide this talented roster with a real opportunity to win.

John Williams – Yes

Vigneault should have been let go after the playoffs, in my opinion. Starting the season 1-5-2 didn’t really help his cause much.

Vigneault’s usual bugaboo, player deployment, has been historically bad to start this season and it is only getting worse. HIs Rangers team is almost unwatchable right now, except for the 20 minutes that the team actually shows up during a 60 minute match.

It has come to a point where I don’t even care who the replacement is. Literally anybody could make better lineup decisions than this guy has made so far this season. With that said, I’d love it if the Rangers gave Sheldon Keefe from Toronto’s AHL affiliate a call.

How strongly do I believe that Vigneault has to go? I wrote about how I want the team to lose until he is let go. While I hate seeing the team lose, it would be the best thing for them going forward if Vigneault is out of the Garden for good.

Justin Starr – Yes

Now I may be one of the only ones that are not sold on whether or not the New York Rangers should fire Alain Vigneault. Yes, the Rangers have had a horrific start to the season but would anything improve? In my opinion, Lindy Ruff is a carbon copy of Alain Vigneault with the way they both coach a hockey team.

I do, however, believe that Alain Vigneault should be axed. Many of the roster moves that he has made this early in the season have been mind-boggling, to say the least. I don’t understand making Brendan Smith and Anthony DeAngelo healthy scratches. They just brought back Smith this summer and traded Derek Stepan for DeAngelo. They shouldn’t be sitting in the press box while Steven Kampfer and Nick Holden are on the ice.

I don’t think Jeff Gorton will fire Alain Vigneault soon, but if the Rangers continue to slump, it wouldn’t surprise me. I’m just nervous that the Rangers will end up with Alain Vigneault 2.0 behind the bench with Lindy Ruff

Scott Austin – Yes

I want to start off by saying that I do not think this team is bad. While they’ve had both a bad and unlucky start, they still possess a roster that’s more than capable enough to win games. I believe that they’re just a top six center away from being really good. However, that would be under the pretense that the roster is deployed correctly, which hasn’t happened for this team yet this season.

Alain Vigneault has proven he can’t play the right players with the right lines/pairs and for the right amount of ice time. Therefore, I believe he should be relieved of his duties as head coach. We’ve seen cases like this before, notably in 2015 during Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against Tampa Bay. Vigneault decided to go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen which ended up in a 2-0 loss and elimination from the playoffs.

Most recently, we’ve already seen Kevin Shattenkirk moved off the top pair and shuffled through the lineup. Meanwhile, Ryan McDonagh has played with defensive partners who were in the press box the game before.

This shouldn’t be difficult for a coach who’s been to the Stanley Cup twice, but if he’s unable to properly adjust, a change should be in order.

Garrett Gartino – Yes

Alain Vigneault’s tenure as the New York Rangers head coach must come to an end. With a team that should be a constant contender, he has fallen short of expectations since the team’s appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2014. After a rough start to the 2017-18 season, it is clear that his tactics have worn thin across Rangers circles. 

In his fifth year with the team, Vigneault’s coaching and decision making have been scrutinized to no end. The added pressure has been no fault but his own. Whether it be his countless head-scratching lineups or poor late-game deployment, Vigneault has been more of a detriment to his team than anything else. 

Although losing Derek Stepan prior to the draft created a hole in the lineup, the work he has done with the remaining roster pieces has been atrocious. Kevin Hayes continues to see the majority of his minutes in a shutdown role, meanwhile, David Desharnais has found himself centering the second line at times. At the other end of the ice, Vigneault has made it his mission to limit captain Ryan McDonagh’s Norris trophy 

On opening night, the Rangers roster was flush with young talent as well as a key veteran addition in Kevin Shattenkirk. Knowing Vigneault’s past, the warning signs were there for his shortcomings. 

Rangers management needs to take a look at their options and realize where the NHL is trending. Gone are the days of veteran-heavy, gritty rosters. Instead, teams like Toronto and Edmonton have proven that young players can handle the pressure of chasing the league’s ultimate goal. 

In order to salvage what is left of Henrik Lundqvist’s championship window, the Rangers must bring in a new face, with new ideas.

Brandon Sapienza – Yes

It is time to fire Alain Vigneault. He had a real solid run as head coach, but since last year, he has made many errors that can cost the Rangers’ future.

This year, which is quickly turning into a dumpster fire, Vigneault has continued to be stubborn in his ways and refuses to play young players like Anthony DeAngelo and Filip Chytil in the positions they are supposed to be in. As a result, Vigneault potentially stunted the growth of these two players who are part of the long-term future for the organization.

Also, I find myself asking a few questions. The first is, why is the lineup so inconsistent? The other one and maybe the more pressing one is, why is Kevin Shattenkirk playing with Marc Staal instead of Ryan McDonagh?

This coach apparently does not know what to do with players he doesn’t know well, and as a result, he takes no risks. Any coach that does not take chances in the NHL is not a good coach, and no team will win a Stanley Cup with a coach like that behind the bench.

Jack Milewski – Yes

The short answer is yes. The Rangers should fire Alain Vigneault. In his fifth year with the team, Vigneault has continued to lose supporters just seven games into the season.

The biggest reason the Rangers should fire Vigneault has nothing to do with the results. Of course, results matter and Vigneault probably wouldn’t be fired if the Rangers had a good record. However, the reason Vigneault should be fired is that he hampers the development of the team with his egregious lineup decisions.

Vigneault has continuously chosen aging veterans over talented youngsters when putting together his lineup cards. He demoted Filip Chytil after three games with the Blueshirts. Anthony DeAngelo has seen minimal ice time and has been given less opportunity than veterans like Marc Staal and Nick Holden who have limited upside.

The Rangers are a young team built for now because of Henrik Lundqvist, but they are also built for the future with a core of young stars. Vigneault chooses to ignore young talent and for that alone, he must go.

1-5 wasn’t the start anyone associated with the Rangers was hoping for. The majority of the blame has quickly fallen on Vigneault and rightfully so. While players haven’t performed on the ice, the coach hasn’t put the right players on the ice, to begin with.

Forget the negative impact a change like that might have if made early on in the season, Vigneault must go and the Rangers will be better off for it.

George Ruggiero – Yes

In the words of former general manager Glen Sather, every head coach has a shelf life. And just as former head coach John Tortorella reached his shelf life, so has Alain Vigneault. His blunders spanning as far back as last season have led to clamoring for his head on a silver platter.

Last season, Vigneault almost directly caused the Rangers’ falling out of the Stanley Cup playoffs. In far too many crunch time situations, Vigneault put the worst defensive pairing, Marc Staal, and Nick Holden, on the ice. This led to many late goals against including a few game winners.

Vigneault’s handling of young forwards over the years hasn’t been much better either. He has consistently played favorites, favoring veterans over young players who need the experience to grow. This season, this is manifested in Vigneault’s handling of both Filip Chytil and Tony DeAngelo.

Overall, it seems like this team is starting to give up on Vigneault. There have been too many lazy plays that have led to goals insofar. Whether AV has lost the locker room or not, his lineup decisions and stunting of many players’ growth warrant his firing.

Nick Zarais – Yes

Alain Vigneault’s tenure as Rangers head coach needs to end as soon as possible. The Rangers are too talented of a team to be playing as poorly as they have through two weeks. It is unacceptable for a coach to not use his best players when the game is on the line.

Pavel Buchnevich having fewer minutes in a game than David Desharnais is baffling. Kevin Shattenkirk was the marquee free agent of the summer, and it took less than a week for the New Rochelle native to find himself on the third defensive pair. I cannot justify Vigneault staying around as coach any longer.

The amount of two-goal leads the Rangers have blown in playoff games haunts the team. The defensive shell with leads in the third period have burned the Rangers way too many times. The coach has failed to adopt this concept in his tenure with the Rangers, it was true in the 2014 Stanley Cup Final and it was true last spring against the Senators.

It’s important that if a coaching change takes place it happens sooner rather than later. The players need ample time to adjust to a new system, which is a painful process that isn’t an easy transition. But the sooner a new coach can take over, the sooner the Ranger can find out if they’re simply underachieving or a team in need of a roster shakeup.

Lou Venditti – Yes

Alain Vigneault is for sure going to be fired this season. His incompetence is becoming hard to ignore, and Jeff Gorton is bound to see it.

Vigneault has shown cracks for years, but it came to a fever pitch during the playoffs. He put Marc Staal and Nick Holden on the ice in late, big time situations. The coach also used Pavel Buchnevich on the fourth line. Vigneault continuously values veterans over developing younger players, and the Rangers are in the middle of a rebuild.

The influx of youth players has already been misused by Vigneault. Filip Chytil played 14 minutes over two games before he was sent down to Hartford. Buchnevich is back on the fourth line despite playing great.

Look, Vigneault is a great coach for sure. He brought the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Finals and won a Presidents’ Trophy at the helm. those teams are gone now, though, and the Rangers need to rebuild. Vigneault is not the coach to rebuild them.

(Give me Darryl Sutter)

Dan Carozzi – Yes

Yes, New York Rangers Head Coach Alain Vigneault should be relieved of his duties.

He ideally would have been let go at least a season earlier or two. However, this almost never happens to coaches with as much regular season success as Vigneault has enjoyed these past two seasons.

I wish I had enough room to write a Declaration of Independence style indictment of Vigneault, but I must keep this brief.

I’ve said in the past that he is a good coach with a few, perhaps fatal, flaws.  His actions over the beginning of this regular season are making me contemplate changing my tune. These past few weeks have been a microcosm of practically all of his worst tendencies, on steroids.

Vigneault’s lineup tinkering has transcended to another plane of absurdity that I didn’t think he was capable of. He’s played Ryan McDonagh with every other defenseman. Kevin Shattenkirk is already getting the Keith Yandle Special. No one knows who the “shutdown pair” is supposed to be.

He’s shuffled every forward line multiple times, apart from the line of Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, and Pavel Buchnevich. Then he broke up that one line that was actually clicking too. Buchnevich was unceremoniously dropped to the fourth line against Pittsburgh and went on to play under ten minutes.

There is plenty of blame to go around, from Jeff Gorton to the assistant coaches to the players. However, the no-show starts and inability to play a full game are inexcusable at this point.

Vigneault is not the right coach for the Rangers and until the organization moves on from him, consider the team’s Stanley Cup window closed.

Alexandra Russo – Yes

Alain Vigneault started out this season on the hot seat, but what he’s gotten himself into now is something much worse than anyone would have expected. The New York Rangers were supposed to have a hot start to this season with an improved roster, but (at least partially) due to Alain Vigneault, the Rangers have done anything but that.

So is this all on Vigneault? The answer is no. However, there’s a solid amount of blame to be placed on him for messing with the line combinations. By doing that, he’s messed with the chemistry of the team and hasn’t allowed them chances to grow. In addition, he’s using players’ skills the wrong way, namely Kevin Hayes, and hurting their scoring.

If by the end of October, the Rangers are not at least at the .500 mark, they will seriously need to consider firing Vigneault. This roster has a lot of talent and to have it go to waste simply because of poor coaching can’t happen.

John Cavanagh – No

As much as fans would love to see it, I believe Alain Vigneault should NOT be fired. While I agree that his deployment of personnel has been horrific, Vigneault can’t go out there and score and defend for the Rangers. At some point, we have to hold the players on the ice accountable as well.

My main reason for keeping Vigneault is who will replace him? Assistant coach Lindy Ruff has similar problems to Vigneault, and in my opinion, is a step down. If the Rangers are going to go in a new direction, they should wait until the offseason. This way they can hire a new coach who perhaps is more in touch with how to play in today’s NHL.

Vigneault is in his fifth season behind the Rangers bench and has had a lot of success. As we stand, the Rangers are 1-5-1 after 7 games, totaling just three points. It’s certainly a bad start, but we have to wait to see if it’s just a slump or a mirage of what’s to come. If the Rangers continue down this path, my answer may change. However, we should wait and see a little longer before rushing to judgment.

Drew McCaffrey – Yes

Alain Vigneault needs to be fired last week.

At this stage in the season, it’s more than just questionable lineup decisions. The team looks lost in ways they haven’t since Vigneault’s first few games in New York. If the head coach is disconnected with his players that they can’t execute his system at all, it’s time for a change.

Sure, there are hopeful signs. The Rangers narrowly won the possession battle at even strength against the Penguins on Tuesday, atrocious start notwithstanding. Lundqvist is playing well enough to keep them from being blown out of the water every night. The power play is truly dangerous.

But the fact remains that, for the first time during Vigneault’s tenure, he seems to have lost the team. There’s a lackadaisical element to their play, an unwillingness to execute, a frankly baffling tendency to botch even the easiest of plays.

While Lindy Ruff is unlikely to be much of an improvement in the systems and deployment areas, he at least presents a change of scenery. It’s a fresh beginning for a group of players who appear disenchanted just seven games into the season.

Michael Delasandro – No

This is a particularly hard question. Sure, head coach Alain Vigneault hasn’t been fantastic for close to two seasons. However, there is not much out there on the head coaching market to replace him, especially mid-season. His personnel decisions leave room for improvement, as do his lineups. But that is easier to fix than it seems if Vigneault takes a critical look at his team. Unfortunately, e has avoided such views for two seasons now.

Regarding Lindy Ruff taking his spot, that in itself can be more intimidating. Ruff, who has a reputation for not always cooperating with Russian players, could leave a negative impact on Pavel Buchnevich. Even more so than Vigneault and his unfair utilization of the young Russian. Players such as Valeri Nichuskin, Maxim Afinogenov, and others have made it very clear that Ruff is not a particular favorite of theirs. It seems that his opinion could be dragging down Pavel Buchnevich.

The Rangers should NOT fire Alain Vigneault. It would be detrimental to the team at this point in the season to undergo leadership change. The best path the Rangers can take is to run out the season and take the summer break to further decide the fate of the head coach.

Matt Hanson – Yes

The New York Rangers should absolutely fire Alain Vigneault and should do it midseason. I’ve had this stance since the Penguins dominated the Rangers in the 2016 playoffs, and that feeling only grew stronger after the Ottawa Senators somehow knocked off the Rangers back in May.

There’s plenty of reasons why I think it’s time. The first being that Vigneault is historically awful with young players. That’s what ended his time in Vancouver and we are starting to see similar trends in New York. His refusal to trust young players give them big minutes is one thing, his over-reliance on veterans who are clearly not getting the job done is another. The Rangers are a mostly young group and I think all of them could benefit from a new coach.

Secondly, I have to go back to last postseason. In just 12 games, the Rangers squandered three separate late-game leads while the opposing team pulled their goaltender. Once versus Montreal and twice versus Ottawa. All three of those games, Brady Skjei and Brendan Smith, probably the Rangers’ best defense pair all postseason, are nowhere to be found late in the game. There’s no excusing that. Vigneault either can’t identify who his best players are or he is just too loyal to ‘his guys’ and opts to play them instead. Either way, it’s bad.

Lastly, I truly think the Rangers players have tuned him out. They just don’t seem to respond to him anymore. I know that sounds cliché, but I just think Vigneault has lost the room. 4+ seasons is a long time to be a head coach of one NHL team, but I think the time has come to part ways.

Karly Redpath – Yes

We are only eight games into the regular season. Vigneault has proven time and time again this season that he can no longer move the team in a positive direction.

He has not effectively used the assets that he has been provided with and has not deployed said assets properly. He is eager to split up defensive pairings and shuffle the roster. Vigneault has effectively incapacitated the Rangers and has made it hard for the team to establish consistency.

Every single action Vigneault takes makes it seem to show he understands this team’s strengths less and less.

As evidence in moves like splitting up Ryan McDonagh and Kevin Shattenkirk after just one game. Along with not giving young players in the system (specifically Filip Chytil) a chance and misusing players like Kevin Hayes (and now Pavel Buchnevich having moved him down to the fourth line). These moves show that Vigneault is no longer the coach that should be leading this team.

His decisions thus far have taken what looked to be a solid roster with some holes and have effectively driven it to the ground. It is a sign that the Rangers have outgrown their coach, and it is time for the team to move on.

Joshua Lipman – Yes

Alain Vigneault should have lost his job after he gave away the Ottawa series last year. He should have lost his job after he left Kevin Hayes in the press box for an elimination game in 2016 or when he dressed Tanner Glass for game seven of the 2015 Eastern Conference Final.

The Rangers coach is mismanaging the team into a pit, and the question of whether the Rangers need a coaching change was answered long ago. It’s time to ask whether the man enabling him, Jeff Gorton, should go too, though.

Vigneault’s not making new mistakes here. He’s still mangling the defensive pairs. He’s still favoring mediocre veterans over young talent.

The coach doesn’t learn from his screwups and neither does Gorton, apparently. He has the power to put a stop to this inane waste of talent, but he chooses not to.

Gorton prioritized re-signing Brendan Smith to a big contract in the offseason. However, it doesn’t seem to bother him that Vigneault barely uses Smith now. Meanwhile, Pavel Buchnevich, one the biggest talents to come through the pipeline in recent years, finds himself regularly demoted to the fourth line for no good reason.

Next: New York Rangers should target Vegas’s Vadim Shipachyov

The Rangers need a coach who won’t make such critical errors, but they need a front office to hold the coach accountable too. Maybe Gorton and Vigneault should ride out of New York together.