I think Torts can be a game changer with patience above and buy-in below, but he's an exception.
I've pretty much come around on how you feel about coaches. I think it's possible for them to make a difference in a meta that allows for it, but NHL coaches are the most risk-averse people in pro sports.
Torts is the only one left who's gonna say "you play the game I tell you to play or you sit, and I don't care who you are." The rest of them are just going to ride the guys making the money because then it's not their fault when they're looking for their next job.
Same thing with "systems." You're not gonna do anything revolutionary when you're gonna be looking for work next summer.
That's the nature of a job with a 2-3 year life expectancy.
All of this is part of the organizational rot. Who is going to listen to some "coach" i.e. placeholder who just tells the vets "go out there and make a play...".
"It wasn't my fault" is the Gallant mantra - he was shit but still feels pure as the driven snow.
Our d zone is a mess, our neutral zone is a mess, our o zone is a mess.
It's said that Laviolette came in to the job with ideas of implementing a "left wing lock" system. Well with Panarin, Laffy and Kreider as our LWs so much for that.
When Gorton was fired Dolan popped out of the woodworks and said the playoffs were imperative. New GM Drury dutifully said Yes, boss! and here we are.
Look at the long list of good players that have been moved around the league right under the nose Drury. He has protected this flawed core and given them miles of rope and now they are all entangled, vets and Drury alike.
Drury is in completely over his head. The one positive thing that really stand out about him is that he does have a vision of how a good team plays. It's bizarre how far away his Rangers teams have been to his ideal game.
And for those nixing the idea that you can change things around with a fresh vision. Look at Tampa and Florida, even Colorado. They had a clear idea where they wanted to be and pursued that. Florida worked hard on their game and their roster leading up to the cup win. The Rangers lack that completely. The Rangers are simply rolling along year after year so this is what you get.
As I've said many times before. The NYR mantra is "Oh well, there's always next year". As long as you make the playoffs the rest is noise in NYR land.
