New York Rangers: Thoughts on the coaching news

The New York Rangers appear to be nearing firing Alain Vigneault. What happens next?

On Sunday, Larry Brooks dropped a bombshell that the New York Rangers may be nearing firing Alain Vigneault. To this point, Vigneault remains Head Coach, but yesterday’s game was considered a major consideration in his future with the organization.

Of course, regardless of the result of yesterday’s game, any coach being considered as a potential fire based on the results of a singular game should recognize that they will be fired soon. If it’s not last night, it’s the next game or the game after that.

With that being said, if Larry Brooks’ sources are correct, Alain Vigneault will be fired sooner rather than later. It’s what we all have been asking for, but does it becoming reality change anything?

No More Vigneault

This seems to be a case of a coach wearing out their welcome in their organization. The players are all out of position, being deployed in ways they have not played before. The young players are not showing any signs of development, and the Rangers are off to a horrific start.

While the biggest question is why the Rangers ever signed Alain Vigneault to an extension in the first place, money should be no object for the team. The future is now, and the youngsters must develop.

Considering Alain Vigneault has shown he cannot do that, that alone is enough reason to remove him from the team.

It’s A Ruff Life

Lindy Ruff is a fine replacement for Alain Vigneault in the interim, but the potential for disaster here is terrifying. There are a few possibilities:

Lindy Ruff replaces Alain Vigneault for the remainder of the season, and no matter how he performs he is gone after the year.
Ruff replaces Alain Vigneault for the remainder of the season, and if he succeeds he is brought on as the full-term replacement.
Lindy Ruff replaces Alain Vigneault for the remainder of the season, shows he can coach in a progressive way now, and we actually want him to be the new Head Coach.

Options one and three would be perfectly fine. Ruff is a fine choice to take over for the remainder of the season, as he will push the players harder than anyone has yet. Ruff will hopefully try different techniques to get the team to work, as he should coach under the assumption he’s coaching for his job.

Additionally, if Ruff somehow changes his style and becomes an optimal coaching choice, that’s just gravy. The Rangers cannot let him fool them for one season, as option two would allow. Unless Ruff shows a clear understanding of analytics, youth progression, and improvement in weaknesses, the Rangers will require a new voice at the end of the season. In all likelihood they should hire a new voice anyway, one that is younger and an up and comer.

All in all, Ruff is fine for now, but will almost certainly not be the correct choice for the future. As long as the Rangers see that, he is fine for now.

Moving Forward

Assuming the Rangers replace Vigneault with Ruff, the team has more decisions to make. Do they continue to go for it this season, hoping to salvage it after a rough start? Or do the Rangers throw in the white towel, using this as a development season for their young players?

Does the replacement at Head Coach change the roles for young players like Filip Chytil and Anthony DeAngelo? Could Neal Pionk find NHL time?

Finally, the Rangers must consider whether or not this season is best served for re-tooling for a run next season. That would mean trading Rick Nash and Michael Grabner as rentals, bringing in pieces that could help them next season and ahead.

Regardless, the moment Alain Vigneault is fired, the Rangers are making a major change. Handling Lindy Ruff and the future of the Head Coach spot is tremendously important, but that can be handled after the season. For now, the youth must develop, and the organization must refresh. The season is long from over. In fact, once that “OFFICIAL:” tweet comes out from @nyrangers, it will have just begun.

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