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New York Rangers: Fact or fiction entering training camp

By Nicholas Zararis

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 31: Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers is pulled from the game in the second period against the Columbus Blue Jackets on January 31, 2016 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 31: Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers is pulled from the game in the second period against the Columbus Blue Jackets on January 31, 2016 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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DALLAS, TX – JUNE 22: Head coach David Quinn of the New York Rangers attends the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX – JUNE 22: Head coach David Quinn of the New York Rangers attends the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Fact: The Rangers will struggle early

Massive change often takes time to get used to. Think about how jarring it was to watch the Rangers be outright terrible for the final three months of the 2017-2018 season. Now, it’d almost be impossible for the team to be worse overall this upcoming season. Coaching in the NHL is something between an art and a science. As for a first time NHL coach, there may no bigger sink or swim than coaching the New York Rangers.

Switching head coaches is a fundamental shock to the system. For a lot of the players currently on the team, they have only known what life under Vigneault as a coach was like. From the jump there will be a shock to the system. Every coach has a different philosophy as to how a team should function and what systems need to be put in place.

The early part of the season will be a matter of how well the players take to the systems put in place. The tricky part will be unlearning how things have been done for years. Take a player like Kevin Hayes who’s been a Ranger for four seasons and only ever played under Vigneault, it’d be like trying to tie your shoes bunny ears style if you’ve only ever done the loop swoop and pull method. It’d be doable, but it’d be confusing for a while until you got into a new rhythm.

The Rangers are going to struggle early because the players need a chance to understand their specific functions within Quinn’s system. Until about mid-November, the Rangers probably won’t be too pretty to watch on any given night.

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