As The Rangers Season Comes To An End, So Does The Alain Vigneault Era

Credit to the Blueshirts brass. They have not hesitated since announcing their rebuild. As far as I can tell there’s not a slam-dunk replacement out there, but that didn’t stop them from acknowledging immediately that AV was no longer the answer. Just hours after the Rangers were embarrassed one last time to close the regular season – and hours after Vigneault stubbornly disavowed any responsibility by telling the media “you have to coach the team you have in front of you” and “I think one of the strongest assets of this organization is its coaching staff” – AV was fired. No need to wait for exit interviews. Building a new core requires a new voice & NY didn’t hesitate in getting that process underway.

Now before everyone has their own personal send-off parades, let’s acknowledge something a lot of people forget. Yes, he was no longer the right coach for the Rangers rebuild. But Alain Vigneault is an excellent coach nonetheless. After the switch from Tortorella, AV took the Rangers to a Cup Final and was one game short of another. This is the first season he’s missed the playoffs during his 5-year tenure & he ended up with a 226-147-37 regular season record despite the sub-.500 finish that helped get him the ax. There’s no Cup to show for it – just like his reign in Vancouver – but his time here wasn’t a colossal failure regardless of what fans want to pin on him. I’d be surprised if AV wasn’t coaching a veteran team somewhere else next season & the Rangers are off the hook for his 2-year extension that’s about to kick in.

In the end, Vigneault’s main fault was very similar to Tortorella and a lot of other veteran coaches. He was too stubborn to change his ways & who he trusted in clutch situations. He constantly punished youth for minimal mistakes while riding vets over and over despite their consistent failures. When his system was clearly failing, he did nothing to adjust. Considering the roster overhaul that’s underway, there’s just no way a coach like that can stick around. After Zib, Kreider, Zucc, Hayes & Fast the Blueshirts are littered with newcomers like Spooner & Namestnikov along with kids like Buch, Andersson & Chytil. Defensively is even more of a challenge as there’s seemingly only 4 spots filled with true NHL talent (Shatty, Staal, Skjei, Pionk). Also, there’s no true #1 shutdown guy with Mac gone & Pionk has barely a third of a season under his belt. There’s a lot of grooming to be done so don’t expect Vigneault’s replacement to be another old, recycled coach.

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I’d have to assume the Rangers are going to be after the next great young hockey mind. The most popular name likely to be kicked around the rumor mill is Toronto Marlies 37 year-old head coach Sheldon Keefe. The Maple Leafs have had a great season thanks in large part to their youth movement. They had 3 players in the top 6 for the Calder last year, including the winner (Matthews). Granted, Matthews is a generational talent that thrived in the NHL immediately but Marner & Nylander spent time under Keefe along with a handful of other youngsters contributing to the big club now. Without those names, this year’s Marlies still finished as the top team in the AHL so clearly Keefe is doing something right. It’d certainly be out of recent character, but expect the next NYR hire to be someone like Keefe making their NHL coaching debut.

Make no mistake, the Rangers are still a sought-after job. If there’s a guy they want and that guy wants an NHL gig then the Rangers are gonna land him. The opportunity to turn around a major market original six squad with an influx of youth, money, prospects & picks is as good as it gets. Whoever it ends up being, fans should be in universal agreement that anything other than Vigneault’s staff is a step in the right direction.