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A new rivalry: Alain Vigneault and David Quinn in the Metro

By Rachel Nones

COLUMBUS, OH - JANUARY 13: Head Coach David Quinn of the New York Rangers watches his team play against the Columbus Blue Jackets on January 13, 2019 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - JANUARY 13: Head Coach David Quinn of the New York Rangers watches his team play against the Columbus Blue Jackets on January 13, 2019 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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DETROIT, MI – DECEMBER 29: Head coach Alain Vigneault of the New York Rangers watches the action from the bench behind Boo Nieves #24, Vinni Lettieri #95 and Jimmy Vesey #26 of the Rangers during an NHL game against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on December 29, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. The Wings defeated the Rangers 3-2 in a shootout. (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI – DECEMBER 29: Head coach Alain Vigneault of the New York Rangers watches the action from the bench behind Boo Nieves #24, Vinni Lettieri #95 and Jimmy Vesey #26 of the Rangers during an NHL game against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on December 29, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. The Wings defeated the Rangers 3-2 in a shootout. (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Big mistakes in the Big Apple

In Vigneault’s first season, the offense slipped to 2.66 goal per game, but peaked at 3.12 GPG in 2016-17.  In the five years Vigneault was coach the team scored 1,193 goals (2.91 GPG) compared to 1,021 (2.71 GPG) in the prior five years under Tom Renney and Tortorella.

Back in 2013, John Tortorella’s last season as coach the Rangers averaged 2.71 goals per game. However, the hot-headed coach was fired just four days after the Rangers were eliminated by the Boston Bruins in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Vigneault’s reputation in New York took a turn for the worst despite multiple playoff appearances and his earlier success leading to postseason runs in Vancouver. It was clear that Vigneault favored the older players over the younger guys, perhaps the most evident example being first Tanner Glass, then Cody McLeod’s minutes somehow being of much higher importance than younger players in need of development and ice time.

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With Vigneault, it appears that he selectively chooses to have grit and toughness on the ice… from only one player. It began as Tanner Glass’s role and then was passed onto Cody McLeod who was picked up off waivers by Vigneault and the Ranger staff in January of 2018. Many wondered what Vigneault saw in Glass and then wondered the same about McLeod.

From behind the bench and in the locker room, he preached a game of speed and preferred to shy away from physicality overall, instead handing the task off to one player. One player cannot wear down an entire opponent, so ultimately and unsurprisingly, this method did not work. Nonetheless, he stuck with it.

Another characteristic of Vigneault’s tenue was his extreme reliance on the goaltender as the center of the game. He rode current netminder Henrik Lundqvist and has stated the performance of the team basically rests on Lundqvist’s shoulders as if the goaltender isn’t the absolute last line of defense in hockey. Relying almost exclusively on veteran netminders can be a tad risky, older guys are more susceptible to injury and budding goaltenders do not gain experience by watching from the bench. That being said, the age dynamic of Vigneault’s new team is a little different than his past experiences.

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