New York Rangers: 4 midseason coaching changes that led teams to Cups
The New York Rangers haven’t won a game in regulation over their last 10 games. They’ve given up 30 or more shots in 15 straight games. With that said, let’s take a step back and think positive.
There are so many negatives surrounding the New York Rangers right now–and rightfully so. The team has looked ill-prepared for 75 percent of their games this season. This is due to some players on the team having down years and the coaching staff not making proper adjustments and being a personnel managing disaster.
While the roster is flawed, it is still a roster that should be able to put up a fight every night. Heck, they were a few Alain Vigneault personnel mistakes away from making the Eastern Conference Finals last year.
Winning a Stanley Cup this season almost seems impossible whether Alain Vigneault is the coach or not. If the Rangers do end up making a coaching change, though, there might be a warranted glimmer of hope for the team to figure it out and play on until June, even if that chance is small.
After all, four teams have done it in the last 18 years. Let’s take a look at those teams.
1999-2000 New Jersey Devils
The Devils were about to finish their season when GM Lou Lamoriello fired head coach Robbie Ftorek with eight games remaining in the season. A move like this is unheard of, especially for a team in the thick of a playoff race.
Under new coach Larry Robinson, the Devils finished the season 4-4 and marched into the playoffs with a 45-24-8-5 record, good for fourth in the Eastern Conference.
The Devils went on to have a magical playoff run in which they won their second Stanley Cup in four seasons. On the road to the Cup, they knocked off the Eastern Conference Champion Philadelphia Flyers and the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Dallas Stars. The Devils would win one more Cup in 2002-2003, this time under Pat Burns.
2008-2009 Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins made the Stanley Cup Finals in 2007-2008 and fell to the Detroit Red Wings in six games. They came back for the 2008-2009 season and started out very poorly. The Michel Therrien led squad floundered, posting a 27-25-5 record before he was fired. Dan Bylsma was brought into the fold after previously coaching the franchise’s AHL affiliate.
Bylsma’s Penguins took his message and ran with it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals after finishing the regular season with a 18-3-4 run. They faced off against the Detroit Red Wings yet again in the finals, this time pulling out a victory.
Bylsma never ended up winning another Cup for the Penguins but they got one which is all that really matters.
2011-2012 Los Angeles Kings
The New York Rangers fan base does not have many fond memories of the Los Angeles Kings after losing to them in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2013-2014. The Kings had won their second Stanley Cup in three years, and it all started with an early season coaching change in 2011-2012.
The Kings started the season 13-12-6 under the guidance of Terry Murray. Once Murray was relieved of his coaching duties, Darryl Sutter was named the team’s head coach. Sutter’s squad played a game that emphasized their size, strength, and defensive ability.
After the coaching change, the Kings finished their season on a 33-16-2 run to sneak into the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Western Conference. They then went to the Stanley Cup Finals defeating the Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise led New Jersey Devils in six games partly due to the brilliance of Jonathan Quick in net.
2015-2016 Pittsburgh Penguins
For the second time in this post, the Pittsburgh Penguins are mentioned as one of the best teams to ever have their head coach replaced midseason. This one, though, might hurt Rangers fans the most.
After already going through a year of frustration, GM Jim Rutherford had had enough of the ineptitude of then head coach Mike Johnston and his boring an ineffective system. While a 15-10-3 start wasn’t terrible, it was obvious that the team was, yet again, not living up to it’s potential, especially after acquiring star scorer Phil Kessel in the offseason.
The team hired Mike Sullivan, a former New York Rangers assistant coach who was coaching the Penguins’ AHL affiliate at the time. Sullivan, regarded as a lackey for John Tortorella’s regimes over the years, took the Penguins and made them what they should be; a scary team with star power up and down the lineup.
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And then the team went out and acquired Carl Hagelin at the trade deadline and paired him with Nick Bonino and Kessel. The Penguins went on to run straight to the Cup Finals where they would face the San Jose Sharks and defeat them in six games.