New York Rangers: Thoughts on Jeff Gorton's press conference

New York Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton met with the media on Monday afternoon to talk about the Alain Vigneault firing and a few other points. Here are some thoughts on his comments:

Jeff Gorton’s press conference on Monday afternoon released a lot of interesting tidbits into the air about the New York Rangers.

The first thing that is important to note is that on top of firing Alain Vigneault on Saturday night, Gorton also let go of associate coach Scott Arniel and Daryl Williams. Arniel was with the team for the last five seasons while Williams was with the team for four.
Gorton noted that Lindy Ruff was not fired as of yet. He will meet with him tomorrow to discuss his future.
I don’t think Lindy Ruff will be considered for the head coaching gig but maybe he is considered for an assistant coaching job when a new coach is hired.
This is just a shot in the dark, but I am assuming that Ruff wasn’t let go just yet because unlike the other assistant coaches who had been here for a while, Ruff has only been with the team for one season.
Gorton mentioned that Vigneault’s post game presser had nothing to do with his firing.
He said the decision was made in the last week of the season.
Gorton said that their is no timetable to name a coach. This probably bodes well for a guy like Sheldon Keefe, who’s Toronto Marlies may make a deep run in the AHL’s Calder Cup Playoffs.
Gorton noted that he would prefer to have a coach with a more hands-on coaching style than Vigneault had since the team will be dealing with a lot of young players in the lineup.
Last thing on the coaching search: Gorton said coaches who have never coached before at any level of pro hockey will not be considered for the job.
Yes, that includes Mark Messier.

Gorton said that, while some players who are banged up had been playing over the last few weeks, none of their ailments are major. The team will do medical examinations tomorrow.
He noted that Chris Kreider is the only rostered player who will definitely play in the World Championships. Gorton also said that Mika Zibanejad, Filip Chytil and Lias Andersson, among others, were also asked to play in the tournament.
Gorton said that he was disappointed in some players for their effort over the last handful of games. He would not name any specific players but he said he will talk to them at break up day.
To the surprise of no one, Gorton also noted that both Kevin Shattenkirk and Tony DeAngelo will be ready for training camp in September.

When asked about a potential Ilya Kovalchuk signing, Gorton brushed it off, citing that he did not want to talk about another team’s player.