Archive for Alain Vigneault
First thoughts of the off-season
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www.themorningskate.com
Well, the off-season is officially upon us. For the first time in years, we can watch playoff hockey stress free. Kinda stinks. There has been quite a bit of noise so far in Rangerland, between coaching rumors, exit interviews and an uncharacteristically vocal James Dolan. As you can imagine, I have some thoughts…
1. First, I want to talk out the coaching rumors. Dolan has seemingly cast a wide net of potential candidates, ranging from NCAA to NHL experience. He has indicated they are keeping an open mind with regard to experience, prioritizing a certain skill set over a set resume. This is a good thing. If there is a clear direction within the organization about what type of mindset they are looking for behind the bench, the more likely they actually get it as they move through the interview process. I know I felt a little baited and switched with AV. I understand the hire based on where the team was at the time, but he was advertised as progressive coach who was going to use data to try and gain a competitive edge. We all now know he turned out to be just another hockey man. Hopefully, with a clear mandate, we actually get what the team is telling us they want. Read More→
Thoughts on the firing of Alain Vigneault
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In case you missed it, and if you did I’m not sure how, the Rangers fired head coach Alain Vigneault last Saturday night. It was a move that was expected, but I don’t think any of us expected it to happen so soon. After all, it happened at 11pm on a Saturday night, just five hours after the 2017-2018 season ended for the Rangers. It was a sign that AV was gone from the get-go, and was coaching for his next job once the rebuild was announced. As always, I have some thoughts.
1. First things first, AV’s firing was long overdue. Personally, I think he should have been fired after last year’s playoff debacle against Ottawa. He was no longer a coach that was going to drive this team forward. There are many reasons why he needed to go, but the overall summary is that he was a square peg in a round hole.
Rangers fire Alain Vigneault
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The Rangers have fired head coach Alain Vigneault. This is an expected move, with the organization heading in a completely different direction than the coach. GM Jeff Gorton was non-committal on AV when the rebuild announcement was made, and this confirms that AV is not in the future plans.
Despite his issues in the past two seasons, AV leaves the Rangers as one of the most successful coaches in team history. He led the team to a Stanley Cup Final and an Eastern Conference Final in back to back seasons. He wasn’t the right coach anymore, and if not for some bad luck in 2015, may have a Stanley Cup on his resume.
The coaching search begins now.
Last “thoughts” post of the 2017-2018 season
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MSG in May (Deadspin)
Happy Friday, BSB people. With last night’s loss to the Islanders, the clock continues to tick down on a lost season. With one game to play, the Rangers currently sit in 23rd place in the league, just one point ahead of the Blackhawks and Oilers. If those teams win their remaining game(s), there is a long shot possibility that the Rangers could drop as low as 25th. With some moving parts still ahead for the Blueshirts, I have some thoughts…
1. If the Rangers do happen to fall into 25th place, they will have a 6.5% chance at the number 1 overall pick. Slim chance there, even though the 31st ranked team only has an 18.5% chance. The general consensus is that the talent drops off significantly after the top 9-10 picks, so the Rangers could use a stroke of good fortune when their lottery ball pops. Read More→
SHOCKER: Increasing Cody McLeod’s Minutes Doesn’t Result in Win
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Pictured: Third line scoring winger Cody McLeod!
The Rangers continued playing out the string last night, losing to the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3. The game was an entertaining affair, and featured strong performances from Jesper Fast, Alexandar Georgiev and Chris Kreider. The Blueshirts put forth a solid effort, but lost due to the lack of talent and depth that playoff teams like the Flyers boast. It was a game very much in line with what we’ve seen from the Rangers over the last few weeks, and likely what we’ll continue to see as the season winds down.
But if you came here expecting a full game recap, I’m sorry to disappoint. Instead, I’d like to talk about Cody McLeod and Vladislav Namestnikov.
Alain Vigneault Still Looms
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Being a Rangers fan over the last few weeks has proven to be a strange existence. A lot of what we’re experiencing has the feel of Seinfeld’s Bizarro World: scoreboard-watching for repercussions on the draft lottery (as opposed to the playoffs), knowing that wins – while often fun – are not the best medicine, and still getting strangely upset at the Blueshirts’ glaring deficiencies while knowing that they’re an objectively bad team at present.
One key thing that remains is the presence of Alain Vigneault. Indeed, there has been a lot more speculation about AV’s future than one would expect given the situation the organization is in. A lot of people have pointed to Jeff Gorton’s non-committal comments last month as a sure sign that Vigneault would be fired at season’s end, but other than that, there seems to be a somewhat strong possibility that he may stay. As Bob McKenzie noted on Wednesday night on NBCSN, the coach’s contract runs through the 2019-20 season at an estimated $4 million per year. The Rangers would likely have to fork over a lot of that cash up front if they were to let him go.
Scattered Friday Thoughts
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Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Last night the Rangers were absolutely dismantled by Rangers-South the Tampa Bay Lightning in predictable fashion. This was an ugly one to watch, as the Blueshirts were helpless to defend wave after wave of offensive attack. No one said rebuilds were easy. As we start to move towards the twilight of a lost season, I have some thoughts…
1. There has been a lot of talk about the most beneficial way to play the remainder of the season. Logic would dictate that the Rangers should lose as many of the remaining games as possible and improve their odds of a higher draft pick. Makes perfect sense. The problem is the players on the ice will and should try to win. You can’t throw games in professional sports. The team on the ice is going to be outclassed most of the time, given the way the roster was gutted, and we can all root for losses. Expecting professionals to go out there and throw in the towel isn’t something that should be on our radar.
The Rangers Are Hopelessly Mediocre, And It’s Not Going to Get Better
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Hate Week continues here at Blue Seat Blogs, and as Dave mentioned yesterday, the Rangers fully deserve it. They are 2-5 since the bye week. They are banged up, in part due to their own mismanagement of injured players. They are running their 35 year-old generational goaltender into the ground in the name of desperation (“every point matters!”), then benching their third-leading scorer in a must-win game.
When this season began, the Rangers started so poorly that most fans and observers believed that they would bounce back. The Rangers did, and put together an impressive streak that got them into playoff contention. So who’s to say that this isn’t just another blip on the radar? I give you the following (apologies for the shameless self-promotion): Read More→
It’s time for true accountability
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In case you missed it on Sunday night, Rangers Twitter was turned upside down when Alain Vigneault made a pair of roster decisions that, for all intents and purposes, made little sense to a good number of people. The first was scratching Pavel Buchnevich (third on the team in goals and scoring), and the second was benching Brendan Smith for Steven Kampfer.
On the surface, there really is nothing wrong with the decisions in a vacuum. Logically speaking, Buch had been struggling to score lately, and there was likely a need to get Kampfer in a game before the bye week. That’s perfectly fine, if those reasons were given by the head coach when pressed on the issue. Instead, we got a vanilla “I liked the matchup” response. He dodged the question with, in my opinion, a bull**** answer. He insulted my intelligence in the process.
Don’t get too excited by Rangers winning streak, just yet.
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Any chance of a good start AV?
One of the reasons I jumped off the Alain Vigneault bandwagon quite some time ago was the coach’s constant regurgitation of clichés. After the Canucks game on Sunday night we got to hear the classic line; ‘good teams find ways to win games’. Sure, of course they do.
Call me a cranky fan if you will (for the record, I love me some positivity and I’m a fan that usually is a little too high on his own team) but I’d prefer some honest assessment from AV such as how the Rangers were abysmal for large stretches of the game on Sunday night. Slightly of track, but I’d also think it would resonate in the dressing room more, if the players heard their coach openly say they sucked (and how and why) when it’s actually the case. But I digress.