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New York Rangers: Five ways the team can improve from within

By Nicholas Zararis

VANCOUVER, BC - FEBRUARY 28: Head coach Alain Vigneault of the New York Rangers smiles as he looks on from the bench during their NHL game against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena February 28, 2018 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. New York won 6-5 in overtime. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)
VANCOUVER, BC - FEBRUARY 28: Head coach Alain Vigneault of the New York Rangers smiles as he looks on from the bench during their NHL game against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena February 28, 2018 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. New York won 6-5 in overtime. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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VANCOUVER, BC – FEBRUARY 28: Head coach Alain Vigneault of the New York Rangers smiles as he looks on from the bench during their NHL game against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena February 28, 2018 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. New York won 6-5 in overtime. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)
VANCOUVER, BC – FEBRUARY 28: Head coach Alain Vigneault of the New York Rangers smiles as he looks on from the bench during their NHL game against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena February 28, 2018 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. New York won 6-5 in overtime. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Alain Vigneault has run his course as coach of the New York Rangers after four years. Vigneault is not the coach to lead a rebuilding team.

The last four years have been a case of close but no cigar. The Rangers had two legitimate chances at winning the Stanley Cup (2014 and 2015) but just couldn’t get there. The biggest indictment against Vigneault and his time with the team is his failure to adapt to his opponents. Both of those eliminations were preventable through adjustments.

In the 2014 Stanley Cup Final, the Rangers went to overtime three times including double overtime twice. The Los Angeles Kings were definitely a more talented team from top to bottom, but the Rangers were able to hang around. In all three of the games that went into overtime, New York had a lead in the third period. The coach’s strategy with the lead in that series was to shell and block shots instead of driving offense.

The 2015 Eastern Conference final against the Tampa Bay Lightning was even more painful. The Rangers were shutout in both games five and seven which were at Madison Square Garden. The team ran the same gameplan twice in four days and realistically expected a different result. This falls squarely with Vigneault for failing to figure out an alternative.

This doesn’t even begin to crack the surface of the laundry list of poor decisions that Vigneault has made as head coach. The chronic mismanagement of personnel, non-answers for his choices and an overall disconnect with the modern NHL.

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