Silverman: Rangers' Next Coach Can't Take Tortorella Route
It's not about a coach forcing a style of play down his players' throats. Those days are over. That's the lesson of John Tortorella's painful regime.
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It's not about a coach forcing a style of play down his players' throats. Those days are over. That's the lesson of John Tortorella's painful regime.
Former NHL defenseman Mathieu Schneider, special assistant to NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr, said a "clear majority" of players supported grandfathering visors.
The list of candidates to become next Rangers coach has grown to Alain Vigneault, Mark Messier, Lindy Ruff, Wayne Gretzky and Dallas Eakins.
Forwards Ryan Callahan and Carl Hagelin underwent surgery to repair torn labrums in their left shoulders. Both players will likely need 4-5 months to recover.
"Oh, I had a huge smile on my face, no question about it," ex-Ranger Sean Avery told the New York Post on Thursday. "It's not that I'm happy for myself. I'm happy for the Rangers and Ranger fans."
Glen Sather must find a coach who understands that the Rangers need to develop their offensive instincts. Tortorella crushed players like Marian Gaborik, those who wanted to put the puck in the net. The next coach can't be so limited in his outlook.
His coaching resume lacks the polish of Vigneault and Ruff, but he speaks the players' language, and maybe that's exactly what the Rangers need after Tortorella squeezed the confidence out of this team.
Rangers GM Glen Sather was vague when pressed for reasons why coach John Tortorella was fired. But multiple reports said the push to move on actually came from the players' exit meetings.
The Rangers fired combative coach John Tortorella on Wednesday, four days after New York was eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs.
This city offers Henrik Lundqvist everything he desires. He isn't going to turn his back and throw it all away.
Sather and the Rangers need a new philosophy and a new leader. Tortorella's hard-edged discipline serves a purpose, but it's not going to bring the Rangers a championship.
So what happened to the New York Rangers? Did they take a step back this year? Well, coach John Tortorella says no, but the correct answer -- from goalie Henrik Lundqvist -- is yes.
Brad Richards would like to continue his career with the New York Rangers. That decision was his two summers ago, but now it is out of his hands.
The reigning Vezina Trophy winner, who is again a finalist this year to be named the NHL's top goalie, wouldn't say whether he'd be open to negotiating a new deal this offseason.
The New York Rangers didn't bring the right mentality in their round two playoff exit at the hands of the Bruins.
