Dan Muse was hired by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday as the team's new head coach, and he replaces Mike Sullivan who joined the New York Rangers in May. There were a number of candidates interested in the position, including former Rangers head coach David Quinn. Now that Muse has taken the job Quinn coveted, could he look to join another organization, or even potentially reunite with Sullivan in the Big Apple?
It is understandable if fans are hesitant about a reunion with Quinn, but it is worth considering that he could be an asset to the team in a reduced role. Quinn was the head coach of the Rangers from 2018 to 2021, and posted a record of 96-87-25 with a .522 winning percentage in 208 games before being relieved of his duties. The end of his tenure wasn't great, but all things considered his track record is something that some other coaches would die for.
Quinn took the 2021-22 season off from the NHL, and coached Team USA at the Olympics and the World Championships before stepping behind the San Jose Sharks bench in 2022. He lasted two seasons there before being fired, and this past season served as an assistant Sullivan's staff.
Quinn was responsible for the Penguins' power play this past season, and it finished 5th in the NHL with a conversion rate of 25.8% and scored 57 power play goals.
The former Blueshirts bench boss was the man who assembled the Rangers' current five-man unit which had been one of the best in the NHL prior to this season. During Quinn's tenure the Rangers' power play converted on 21 percent of its chance and scored 133 goals. The Rangers ranked 11th and 7th overall in the NHL during that span.
The Rangers power play was recently the responsibility of Michael Peca, but he's now in Chicago with the Blackhawks on Jeff Blashill's staff. During the 2023-24 season the Rangers power play converted on 26.4 percent of its chances, and this past season it dropped to 17.6 percent which is quite a significant drop considering the personnel remained the same.
Quinn also had a decent track record in San Jose on special teams, even though he wasn't the dedicated power play coach there.
The Sharks won 32 games the season before Quinn took over and had a power play that scored 41 goals and shot 19.0%. In year 1 the Sharks won just 22 games, but their power play converted on 18.4 percent of their chances and scored 42 goals. In 2023-24 they won just 19 games, but also had a power play that converted on 20.2 percent of its chances and scored 42 goals.
All of this is another way of saying that Quinn has had success coaching power play units of varying talent levels. Most importantly, Quinn is coming off a successful season working for Sullivan. He is familiar with Chris Drury and the rest of the Rangers' organization, and when so many other things could be changing, having some continuity for this first season might not be the worst thing in the world.
New York will likely conduct a lengthy search to fill out the opening on Sullivan's bench created by Muse joining Pittsburgh, Peca joining Chicago, and Phil Housley getting fired, but I think they can handle Quinn being the lone retread and go in a different direction for the other assistant vacancies.