The New York Rangers reportedly have as many as ten candidates for the vacant head coaching job. The new head coach will dictate the expectations for next season.
Things are going to be different in New York for the first time in a long time. Gone are the perennial contender New York Rangers that feature a hybrid of veterans and youth. As of right now, the team is in a position where it will ask more from unproven players than any point in recent memory. If this truly is a two year rebuilding program, this is perfectly fine. However, the choice for head coach needs to reflect a rebuilding, forward thinking mindset.
With such an attractive position opening, it is no wonder that the Rangers have so many candidates. The team has a legendary goalie entering the twilight of his career, a fistful of draft picks and lots of young developing players. There is enough wet clay here for a new head coach to develop the program to reflect his mindset.
That is why it is so important the front office and ownership nail the head coaching position. As the Rangers saw with the end of the Alain Vigneault era, a coach can seep into the players beyond just strategy. By the end of this past season, the players felt marooned out on an island. There was seemingly no system in place, just whatever Vigneault wanted was the lineup that particular day.
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With so many young players that need guidance slated to be on the team next season, this new coach has to be able to tap into the talent while keeping it on schedule.
The Window
The new head coach will be the front office and ownership’s shepherd. If the Rangers truly expect to compete next season, they’ll likely hire a retread. There is a realm in which a coaching retread can be highly effective. Take Vigneault for example, for the first three years of his tenure, New York thrived with his systems in place. Although his systems proved to not hold up over time, his track record as coach speaks for itself.
It is unlikely that the Rangers would choose a retread being that they have so much young talent. The front office saw how important having a coach that was able to communicate with young players. Last season, season long problems were never addressed because of Vigneault’s style as a coach. This hands off mentality worked well with an established veteran team, but not developing talent.
This is why the team’s rumored interest in several college coaches makes plenty of sense. Both Jim Montgomery of Denver University and David Quinn of Boston University are both potential candidates for the job. A college coach is about as big step away from Vigneault as possible. A NCAA coach is by design more hands on because of the structure of a college season.
This means that if the Rangers hire a college hockey coach they’ll be accepting that competing is a year or two away. With the current core of players, competing in 2019-2020 is a realistic goal. This is the last season in which Henrik Lundqvist can realistically be the bell cow for the team and still compete.
In conclusion
The Rangers expectations next season are directly tied to the head coach. If the organization brings in a coach with no NHL experience it will be a learning process for everyone. However, if it does end up being a coaching retread, the expectation to compete next season will be looming in the background.
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There is a recipe in which the Rangers get the best of both worlds. A fresh head coach with no NHL experience that capitalizes on a talented but misused team and slips into the post season next year is possible. There is plenty to be excited about in Rangerstown this summer and it all starts with the coaching search.