Player Discussion David Quinn: Part VI

[CasusBelli]

I wouldn't call on his track record as HC as a positive. His Senators teams couldn't get over the hump. His Panthers teams underachieved. He rode Halak to an ECF one year in Montreal, and then they fell back to normal after that. There's a reason his name hasn't come up in serious HC conversations in 10 years.

Not that I think it's all negative. Let's just not make him out to be an obviously good choice.

I thought he did a great job developing young players in Ottawa and Florida. I lived in Florida while he coached there, watching all televised games, and definitely saw an improvement during his tenure. Mind you he was HC and GM for some time then — not easy.

 

[RGY]

Gallant is the number one target for me.

I just dont think Torts is the right guy to bring in at this time. I know a lot of hockey minds feel he has mellowed out a bit but he is still tough as nails, which can certainly be a good thing, but I worry he will not enable Lafreniere and Kakko’s offensive ability to develop and flourish. I am all for a coach preaching a team first / defense first mentality, but I just never feel like Torts has a good balance with the offensive side of the puck.

After that I am up in the air on a lot of the names out there. I would be ok with Babcock and giving him a second chance, although I know many have their reservations.

I like Patrick Roy and I know many here are not a fan. But he did a solid job in Colorado. His last year there the team really underperformed. Their goaltending was a question mark headed by Varlamov that year.

I wouldnt hate Boudreau or Julien because of their extensive experience but they aren’t at the top of the list and would really be options after multiple others didnt come to pass. Knoblauch is a coach I like but I think I would prefer some more HC experience right now for where this team is.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

I imagine that if we don’t hear that Quinn is out by tomorrow he will be staying.

I could be wrong, but it would seem wrong to leave him twisting in the wind like that.

 

[RGY]

I imagine that if we don’t hear that Quinn is out by tomorrow he will be staying.

I could be wrong, but it would seem wrong to leave him twisting in the wind like that.

I think there are still some coaches that could become available that they might have their eyes on such as Sullivan and Cassidy.

 

[RGY]

 

[haveandare]

I think there are still some coaches that could become available that they might have their eyes on such as Sullivan and Cassidy.

Cant imagine either would get fired, but that’d be incredible

 

[Pizza]

Torts in his final days with the Rangers was a coach who'd lost the locker room. Quinn, warts and all, doesn't seem to have that same vibe around him.

It's not necessarily going to save him, but I don't know if it'll be a factor either.

One of the biggest factors out there could end up being whether the Rangers like any of the other options and/or feel the timing is right for those options.

Truth be told, this could end up becoming a marriage of convenience for a little bit.

My sense of David Quinn is that he is a dedicated, passionate & decent person who is also a more than decent hockey coach.

The question is does he have what it takes, with out question, to move the team to the next level.

There I have my doubts.

And unfortunately most teams, no matter their leadership or accomplishments, rely on great coaches to push them very hard to that next level.

The sentiments and expressions of unity this week are nice, but the Rangers suffered a catastrophic failure of leadership. And put bluntly, were left to making excuses for that failure.

The Rangers are the team straight out of central casting that needs a big push. Both behind the bench and on it.

 

[chosen]

....The question is does he have what it takes, with out question, to move the team to the next level.

There I have my doubts......

I've heard this sentiment expressed often by fans and not just about Quinn and I can't figure out how a fan comes to this sort of conclusion. Is there concrete evidence to support it or is it a gut feeling?

If it's the latter, which it kind of has to be, what exactly is it based upon?

 

[Mac n Gs]

Why is there a need to make an immediate decision to fire/keep Quinn before the playoffs even start? This is what happened last time, and a bunch of people complained that we didn't wait long enough to hire someone like Laviolette or Trotz. Waiting a few more weeks isn't going to have any effect on what happens next year.

 

[bleedblue94]

I have to imagine Drury is contacting potential hires to replace to gauge interest. If he fires Quinn and doesn't know who his successor is than he will look like an idiot having to hire the wrong guy bc he didn't ID the landscape of potentials before he created the opening. Remember, he has only had the position for a week or so, there is a lot going on...

 

[Greschner4]

Brett Howden
Colin Blackwell
The Carolina playoff games
This year's critical Iselander games

Quinn does 80% of the job fine, but then there are the things that separate the ok/mediocre coaches from the good/great coaches, and that's where Quinn goes astray. Bad, blinders-on personnel decisions; failures to prepare/motivate the team for the bigger games on the schedule -- that's his Achilles heel. You can add to that the slight (or even more than slight) disconnect between him and the team's elite players that Uncle Larry rightly wrote about a couple weeks ago -- the whole "North-South" obsession he has, even after wins. We've seen enough of it not to write it off as just a small sample or a coincidence. Just not good enough.

Still can't begin to see what he brings to the table that would have made him a shoo-in in JD/JG's eyes to return next year. How did that even begin to become a thing in their viewings? Just inexplicable, IMHO. I can see publicly saying, "David is doing a fine job" during the season and whatnot, but to actually, really think he was a shoo-in? No way.

 

[chosen]

Brett Howden
Colin Blackwell
The Carolina playoff games
This year's critical Iselander games

Quinn does 80% of the job fine, but then there are the things that separate the ok/mediocre coaches from the good/great coaches, and that's where Quinn goes astray. Bad, blinders-on personnel decisions; failures to prepare/motivate the team for the bigger games on the schedule -- that's his Achilles heel. You can add to that the slight (or even more than slight) disconnect between him and the team's elite players that Uncle Larry rightly wrote about a couple weeks ago -- the whole "North-South" obsession he has, even after wins. We've seen enough of it not to write it off as just a small sample or a coincidence. Just not good enough.

Still can't begin to see what he brings to the table that would have made him a shoo-in in JD/JG's eyes to return next year. How did that even begin to become a thing in their viewings? Just inexplicable, IMHO. I can see publicly saying, "David is doing a fine job" during the s

I understand that a lot of fans don't like to hear it, but the players weren't experienced enough and therefore not good enough to do much better.

Their defense was far below the NHL average. The 3rd pair was an utter disaster, and Miller, after a decent start, was an absolute horror show, making the second pair a big liability.

Fox was awesome. Lindgren was very good. Trouba was okay, but filled a physical void that is badly lacking on the team.

Carolina is as good as any team in the NHL.

The Islanders are a much better team than the Rangers.

I'm no Howden fan, but I'm not sure who you would rather have had as a 4th-line center from the roster. It's not like he was blocking Czikas.

The Blackwell usage, in the beginning, worked out perfectly, despite a lot of fans screaming about it, although I agree Quinn should have demoted him sooner.

This is not an argument to keep Quinn. Coaches don't matter much to me. If they were so valuable they would win with less than stellar personnel and they never do.

 

[Glen Sathers Cigar]

IF Quinn stays, Greg Brown and David Oliver need to be sent packing.

I want Quinn gone, but if they're going to give him another shot, they need to bring in someone else to run the offense like they did with Martin on defense.

 

[Kodiak]

Why is there a need to make an immediate decision to fire/keep Quinn before the playoffs even start? This is what happened last time, and a bunch of people complained that we didn't wait long enough to hire someone like Laviolette or Trotz. Waiting a few more weeks isn't going to have any effect on what happens next year.

Mark me down as also not seeing the need to immediately name a replacement if Quinn is let go. It's the offseason, so the head coach's role is extremely limited. And we're bound to see a handful of coaches get fired after their teams are eliminated from the playoffs. There could be good candidates that we aren't even discussing right now.

 

[duhmetreE]

I'd be content if Boudreau and Martin would be the balls hanging around Quinn.

Didn't BB almost accept an assistant job?

 

[Zibanejbread]

goodbye!

 

[Crease]

Quinn and the assistants other than Allaire are out, according to Uncle Larry.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Right decision to let him go.

Good luck to him on what ever he does next. I couldn't stand him as a HC but hes a good human. I'm sure he'll land on his feet somewhere.

 

[Savant]

Right decision to let him go.

Good luck to him on what ever he does next. I couldn't stand him as a HC but hes a good human. I'm sure he'll land on his feet somewhere.

I mean besides Babcock who do we know is a bad human?

 

[Peltz]

Other than the fact that he didn't wear his damn mask properly behind the bench, I have no ill will towards Quinn and really think he did his best. I hope he gets another opportunity somewhere.

 

[tailgunner]

Quinn is a very nice gentleman but he is just not the right coach at this time.
Wish him the best

 

[Pizza]

I've heard this sentiment expressed often by fans and not just about Quinn and I can't figure out how a fan comes to this sort of conclusion. Is there concrete evidence to support it or is it a gut feeling?

If it's the latter, which it kind of has to be, what exactly is it based upon?

Speaking for myself, it's a gut feeling based on watching the team start too many games clearly not ready to play.

Clearly being out worked. Losing puck battles all over the ice, allowing goals to start and end periods among other things.

Now that will happen even with the most disciplined teams, but when it happens as much as it did with the Rangers this season, my gut tells me the team and the coach are out of sync.

That created doubts in my mind about Quinn elevating the Rangers from a collection of talented vets & youngsters into a cohesive unit that qualifies for the playoffs and makes some serious noise.

Good luck to Quinn. As I said, obviously a very decent fellow that will surely land on his feet.

 

[chosen]

Speaking for myself, it's a gut feeling based on watching the team start too many games clearly not ready to play.

Clearly being out worked. Losing puck battles all over the ice, allowing goals to start and end periods among other things.

Now that will happen even with the most disciplined teams, but when it happens as much as it did with the Rangers this season, my gut tells me the team and the coach are out of sync.

That created doubts in my mind about Quinn elevating the Rangers from a collection of talented vets & youngsters into a cohesive unit that qualifies for the playoffs and makes some serious noise.

Good luck to Quinn. As I said, obviously a very decent fellow that will surely land on his feet.

Fair enough about the game's beginnings, but winning puck battles is 100% on the players, and while some of them consistently did lose them, more than a few won them. Getting older will help a lot in that regard. I think guys like Kakko and Laf are going to be a nightmare for the opposition when it comes to puck battles.

Whomever coaches next season is going to have a far better team to deal with. If it's Quinn, most here will say they're better despite Quinn's incompetence.

If it's someone else, he'll get credit for the improvement, yet you can be 1000% sure that no matter who the coach is, by the end of the season, he'll have detractors and some will be unhappy about the choice no matter who it is, right from the day it's announced.

Gallant has the best chance at making the fans happiest, at the beginning, but if it's him, there will still be some hating him unless they win the Cup next season.

 

[Pizza]

Fair enough about the game's beginnings, but winning puck battles is 100% on the players, and while some of them consistently did lose them, more than a few won them. Getting older will help a lot in that regard. I think guys like Kakko and Laf are going to be a nightmare for the opposition when it comes to puck battles.

Whomever coaches next season is going to have a far better team to deal with. If it's Quinn, most here will say they're better despite Quinn's incompetence.

If it's someone else, he'll get credit for the improvement, yet you can be 1000% sure that no matter who the coach is, by the end of the season, he'll have detractors and some will be unhappy about the choice no matter who it is, right from the day it's announced.

Gallant has the best chance at making the fans happiest, at the beginning, but if it's him, there will still be some hating him unless they win the Cup next season.

Good points here and I pretty much agree down the line except that I think better coaching on puck pursuit and possession could have made a difference.

That said the Rangers certainly had the skill, it was the will that was lacking many nights. That's a combination of maturity & learning what it takes to win in the NHL.

The other thing was a lack of leadership. I would say that none of the vets really took a strong enough stand there...or at least I never saw it to my satisfaction.

To your point, we're all going to have our takes on this. No matter who coaches this team, or how he does, he will be hated out of the box by some.

What are your thoughts on Tortorella returning?

 

[chosen]

Good points here and I pretty much agree down the line except that I think better coaching on puck pursuit and possession could have made a difference.

That said the Rangers certainly had the skill, it was the will that was lacking many nights. That's a combination of maturity & learning what it takes to win in the NHL.

The other thing was a lack of leadership. I would say that none of the vets really took a strong enough stand there...or at least I never saw it to my satisfaction.

To your point, we're all going to have our takes on this. No matter who coaches this team, or how he does, he will be hated out of the box by some.

What are your thoughts on Tortorella returning?

My initial reaction to any coach is that I don't care. I don't believe they make much difference. I think Torts is qualified, but he always seems to end up disliked by his players. However, Herb Brooks had a plan to be hated when he pulled off the greatest upset in history, so does it really matter if the players hate the coach?

Trotz seems to be able to get disciplined play from all his teams, but I don't think the same can be said for any other coach, at least none pop into mind.

No one has won the Cup in my lfetime that didn't have good personnel, a goalie on his game, a mostly healthy roster and some lucky bounces. None have won primarily because of their coach.

I think we're lucky as hockey fans in that it's a total crapshoot who will win ever since the Cap came into place. There are only 5-10 teams you can pretty much dismiss every season. In baseball, you can immediately toss more than half. More in football. In basketball, you can usually pick a winner from under 5 teams. I like it that way, for hockey.