How will Coach David Quinn of the New York Rangers fare in the NHL’s new season format for 2020-21?
The NHL and the New York Rangers are back to playing games. The league is starting January 13, 2021, with the Rangers first game scheduled for January 14th. With realigned divisions, the league will be playing a 56 game schedule, with all play kept within the division. For the New York Rangers that means eight games each versus the Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils.
This season will bring unique challenges with it as health and safety continue to be primary concerns. A condensed schedule, taxi squads, quarantine bubble travel and many sets of back-to-back games are just a few. Things will become more defined as we move forward, but one thing is clear. This season will be like playing seven playoff series.
The playoffs always bring more excitement, they ramp up old rivalries, created new ones and boil the blood of players and fans alike. One other thing the playoff are good for is making a coach earn his keep. While during the regular season a coach can focus on teaching, video review, practice and molding the team into their image, the playoff’s are a different animal all together.
Because you meet the same opponent game after game, a coach must be more proactive. He must be ready to adapt, he has to work towards or avoid match-ups. He must also take part in gamesmanship, working the officials and taking the temperature of not only his team, but his opponents as well. In the playoffs, coaching can win or lose a series, just as easily as the players on-ice performance.
So in the case of the New York Rangers, how does Head Coach David Quinn stack up to the competition? Quinn’s coaching career began at Northeastern University as an assistant coach, He would then help build the hockey program at the University of Omaha-Nebraska. He then joined the United States Developmental Program before joining Boston University as an assistant, winning the National Title in 2009.
He would follow that success by becoming Head Coach of the Lake Erie Monsters of the AHL where he stayed for three seasons. In June of 2012, Quinn was named Assistant Coach with the Colorado Avalanche, his first taste of NHL action. The following year he took over as Head Coach at Boston University. He held that position for five seasons, making it to the NCAA National Championship Finals in 2015 and the NCAA Regional Finals in 2017 and 2018.
On May 23, 2018 Quinn was named head coach of the New York Rangers. In his two years, Quinn holds a 69-64-19 record with the team performing vastly better in the second season with 37 wins and 79 points. The 79 points on the season are one point better than the previous season, but with 12 fewer games played. Quinn’s Rangers played in the post season in 2019-20, taking part in the NHL’s return to play Stanley Cup Qualifier. The team was ousted in a three game sweep by the Carolina Hurricanes, being outscored 11-4.
In looking ahead to the 2020-21 season, Coach Quinn has his work cut out for him. In terms of NHL experience and success, he is clearly the underdog. While his collegiate and AHL experiences will serve him well, the other head coaches of the division have accumulated an impressive NHL resume. Between them they have four Stanley Cups, five Jack Adams Awards, and seven Presidents Trophies over 90 combined seasons and 57 playoff appearances.
Lets take a look at the competition.