The New York Rangers may be heading to the summer break sooner. And for one former head coach, his season is officially over after being relieved by the Philadelphia Flyers.
John Torterella is that coach, and if the Rangers are willing to move away from current head coach Peter Laviolette, a reunion could happen.
But is it possible? Is Laviolette in that much of a hot seat if the Rangers do not make the playoffs? And would bringing Torts back to Madison Square Garden be a good idea with this team that seems unable to handle a little bit of pressure?
Return of Torts?
This would be an earth-shattering revelation for the Rangers and their fans. For the team, the shakeup would come as a surprise, as it is obvious that one of the more “safe” head coaches in the National Hockey League is Laviolette. Even though this year might end in tragedy, with a playoff run seemingly still out of reach with 10 games to go, it should not warrant his departure.
For the fans, this would break the internet. When Tortorella was at the helm from 2008-09 through the lockout season of 2012-13, he coached in 319 games. You can also add his very brief stint in the 1999-00 season, in which he coached three games to a 0-3-1-0 record. His record, as a total, was 171-118-1-29 with a winning percentage of .583. That winning percentage is the highest for any tenure with all five teams he has coached.
Torterella also brought the Rangers to the playoffs in four of the five seasons and was only bounced out of the first round on one of those occasions. Of course besides his winning pedigree, comes a well-known fact that he is very hard on his players and is a super aggressive coach. He doesn’t hold any punches, which might be exactly what this team might need.
Laviolette isn’t going anywhere
But, let’s face it, as great as it would be to see Torteralla back behind the bench for the franchise’s Centennial season next year, Laviolette is not going anywhere. No matter what happens over the next 10 games, the Rangers will be led by their current coach.
The Rangers have had a tendency to allow their coaches a brief stint of two to three seasons, then move on, as they did with Gerard Gallant and David Quinn before him. So, we should have one more season out of Laviolette before a dire change occurs. Well, that’s if we follow this pattern.