New York Rangers: Highlights and reactions from David Quinn press conference

The Rangers unveiled the 35th head coach in franchise history on Thursday, May 24th at Madison Square Garden. Following a long and tedious interview process, the team has their hand picked choice.

The New York Rangers have continued their hoarding of New England based hockey talent. The Cranston Rhode Island born David Quinn is just the latest in a long list of talent from the northeast. From the jump, it is clear that Quinn was the Rangers guy all along, that there were no other serious candidates.

This song and dance culminated in the news this past weekend of the details for Quinn. The courting process took a five year, $12 million dollar deal. However, that was due to a sense of loyalty. As Quinn spoke about during the presser, being the head coach of Boston University’s hockey program was a dream job.

Even so, the strong connection between Quinn, Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton and Assistant general manager Chris Drury made this happen. The three have all known each other from the same hockey circles for years. As a fellow Boston University alumni, Drury was logically the one pushing for Quinn.

The coach

As the head coach of a rebuilding team, Quinn is stepping right into the firing line for a difficult job. Part of the mythos of New York sports is the underlying expectation of competitiveness. When a team attempts a rebuild, it sours the fanbase quickly. Quinn was asked how he felt about taking over a team that clearly needed a guiding hand to develop.

Multiple questions during the press conference were oriented around Quinn’s mindset for establishing a culture for this team. The big point of emphasis for the head coach was the importance of practice. “We need to come to the rink for practice with a game mindset to get better every single day,” Quinn said.

On top of that, this is also a team with one of the best goalies in the history of the NHL in Henrik Lundqvist. Quinn revealed that he has yet to speak directly to Lundqvist, but made no qualms about the plan for next season.

Maybe Quinn will not make a point of calling out a hall of fame goaltender for the overall team’s struggles. No matter what, Quinn will be an exciting change of pace for a team that has felt stale for several seasons.

Reaction

On all fronts, it seems like there is genuine palpable excitement surrounding the hire. Partly because Quinn seems like a coach made for the modern NHL, partly because he is not Alain Vigneault.

But, generally, there was excitement for a forward thinking coach.

Next: A history of David Quinn's time at Boston University

With less than a month until the NHL entry draft, Quinn has a lot of learning to do. And maybe, the front office is cooking up another big move.