Confirmed with Link: Head Coach Vacancy Pt III: How's your spelling? (Eakins/Vigneault/Messier/Gretzky)

[AlternateSideParking]

You complete missed the point. I never said Hasek was great because of Ruff. Where did I say that? Re-read my posts and tell me where I said that.

Hasek was ready to leave the Sabres before Ruff got hired. Hasek bolted from a playoff game under Nolan. Ruff came in and "handled" the situation with Hasek perfectly. They almost won a cup together....

Ruff is the perfect coach for this team...

You obviously dont watch Sabres games. Sadly, for this debate, it's a benefit that i was forced to watch his team because of the Upstate blackouts.

Derek Roy
Jason Pominville
Thomas Vanek
Ryan Miller
Tyler Myers
Drew Stafford
Maxim Afinogenov


All highly-skilled players (except Miller) who disappeared for halves of seasons multiple times under Ruff. Torts admitted he didnt get the best out of his top players and it was his fault. Ruff has pissed away elite talent for whatever reason.

Buffalo is one of the most maddening teams in the NHL since the lockout. Inconsistency is a byword for that franchise, and Ruff is Culprit Numero Uno.

The only contribution Ruff made for this franchise is the penalty shot he scored against Brunetta in 1990.

It'll stay that way.

 

[aufheben]

I am on the fence with this.

While I want the Rangers winning games more than anything, I also want to see them play some exciting hockey.

It would be a bummer to think back on the Lundqvist years and say "Man, was that a boring team".

The real bummer would be if he never wins a cup.

 

[Son of Steinbrenner]

Good points, though, it doesn't have to be one extreme or the other. Does he have to hang around the locker after every game to know whats going on ?

No he doesn't. I think he knew something was up but because of the short season and playoffs he didn't investigate it himself until the end of year meetings. That's when Sather knew the extent of the problems. Hank's comments to the press only magnified things...

I still think the one MAJOR reason Sather fired Torts was Torts complaints to the media about the roster. Sather has an ego the size of Manhattan.

 

[NYRFANMANI]

sad to see nobody jumped on the riddle on how to kill an inanimate object ...

 

[haveandare]

I am on the fence with this.

While I want the Rangers winning games more than anything, I also want to see them play some exciting hockey.

It would be a bummer to think back on the Lundqvist years and say "Man, was that a boring team".

I think winning is exciting no matter how it gets done. Maybe it was just me, but I thought last year's ECF run was about as exciting as it gets. The hockey wasn't back and forth trading chances, but a lot of games came down to the wire and the rangers were playing a real heart and soul style game.

Also, I guarantee you that if Hank wins a cup here, nobody will ever look back on that time negatively, no matter what style they were playing when it happened.

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

It's a double edged sword. If Sather is around the lockerroom too much that would be a bad thing. I have no issue with Sather keeping a "safe distance" from the team. I don't think he could be completely out of touch considering his Assistant GM Jim Schoenfeld also acted as a practice Coach.

A safe distance and "woah, these guys really don't like the coach and they don't want him anymore" are pretty far apart from each other to me.

I think the players were as professional as possible and didn't go to Sather during the year to complain. I think the players used the forum granted to them during the end of year meetings to say what they had to say. I give the players credit for being honest, for keeping the gripes to themselves during the season. (Other than the Avery tweet which Callahan dismissed) That shows maturity that other Rangers teams did not possess.

Again, he should have a finger on the pulse of his team.

Sather should lose his job too but I can't fault him for not knowing how bad the situation in the room had become.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, he needs to have some idea of how things are in the lockerroom.

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

At this point I doubt he has any real responsibilities with the day-to-day running of the team.

He's going to hire the new coach....

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

This could be a good thing or a bad thing. Maybe Torts and Slats had an agreement that the coach would be the buffer

A buffer from what exactly?

Maybe the players didn't think it would be right, or that circumstances were dire enough, to force their way into Sather's office midseason to voice their displeasure. Hell, I view this as exit interviews being put to good use - it's over, let's hear the REAL story. What's the point of them otherwise?

The exit interviews were put to good use. And obviously they were very important. But the fact that Sather seemingly had no idea there was a potential mutiny on his hands is disconcerting.

 

[NYR94]

I still have no idea who the hell Dallas Eakins is.

Sounds like a bad ass name, though.

He played for the Rangers for a brief time.

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

This idea is speculation by Larry Brooks. Sather was very nondescript in his press conference and spoke in generalities. He never stated that he wasn't planing on firing Tortorella, just that Tortorella took it as a surprise. He said the decision was made after a year end evaluation with staff.

It's been reported and talked about by more than just Brooks.

The timing of the firing doesn't indicate to me that Sather had no idea what was going. It might have well been that Sather was going to give him another season (or at best half) to prove himself pending changes.

If Sather was prepared to bring Torts back and then the exit interviews with the players caused him to do a complete 180, then Sather had no feel for what his players were thinking or feeling. By all reports, Torts was "stunned" when he was fired.

 

[bobbop]

Why do I get the feeling that Sather is going to go off the matrix here?

Paul Maurice perhaps? Sather and Rutherford are close and Rutherfoird hated having to fired Maurice. Both times.

Jacques Lemaire? (Don't laugh boys and girls)

 

[nyranger61494]

A buffer from what exactly?



The exit interviews were put to good use. And obviously they were very important. But the fact that Sather seemingly had no idea there was a potential mutiny on his hands is disconcerting.

Not to mention that Katie Strang tweeted that a source informed her that Torts was extended during the season.

 

[mrhockey193195]

If Sather was prepared to bring Torts back and then the exit interviews with the players caused him to do a complete 180, then Sather had no feel for what his players were thinking or feeling. By all reports, Torts was "stunned" when he was fired.

This is what worries me. If torts was "stunned" by his firing, then that tells me that the players held these grudges throughout the year and pouted, instead of trying to communicate with their coach and work through it. If the players voiced their concerns throughout the year, there's no way torts would have been "stunned".

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

Why do I get the feeling that Sather is going to go off the matrix here?

Paul Maurice perhaps? Sather and Rutherford are close and Rutherfoird hated having to fired Maurice. Both times.

Jacques Lemaire? (Don't laugh boys and girls)

I don't think Maurice would be a surprise. The Rutherford and Grave connection is there.

Lemaire certainly would be!

 

[Jim Morrison]

What kind of "system" does Dallas Eakins play? What kind of coach is he? What kind of person is he? Not going to lie, I know little to nothing about him.

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

Not to mention that Katie Strang tweeted that a source informed her that Torts was extended during the season.

Good point. Thanks for mentioning that.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

I don't think Maurice would be a surprise. The Rutherford and Grave connection is there.

Lemaire certainly would be!

With the outcry for someone to come in here and open things up, a Lemaire hire would be absolutely priceless

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Just get that Dallas Eakins guy.

If I watch another game where the team is playing remotely close to Torts style, I'm going to kill something. (probably myself or an inanimate object)

From what I read, and I read so much in the last 2 threads ... plz just get that guy.

Ruff is a D minded coach, AV don't know ... anybody else

I want the new guy ...

What if Eakins winds up being more defensive oriented at the NHL level? Do you even care? Or you're just looking for someone new?

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

This is what worries me. If torts was "stunned" by his firing, then that tells me that the players held these grudges throughout the year and pouted, instead of trying to communicate with their coach and work through it. If the players voiced their concerns throughout the year, there's no way torts would have been "stunned".

He would be stunned if he was told he was going to come back and then 24-48-72 hours later was told he was out.

 

[NYRFANMANI]

What if Eakins winds up being more defensive oriented at the NHL level? Do you even care? Or you're just looking for someone new?

D is key, dont get me wrong, but like 100% D like torts, my heart wont handle anymore.

I'm simply looking for someone new, yes

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

He would be stunned if he was told he was going to come back and then 24-48-72 hours later was told he was out.

We've speculated that Gorton is the one running the day to day operations of the team from the management level. Thats never been confirmed, I believe. Who knows - knowing this organization, its entirely possible nobody in upper management is taking the pulse of the team. It seems pretty likely given the personnel decisions.

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

We've speculated that Gorton is the one running the day to day operations of the team from the management level. Thats never been confirmed, I believe. Who knows - knowing this organization, its entirely possible nobody in upper management is taking the pulse of the team. It seems pretty likely given the personnel decisions.

The personnel moves I can chalk up to implicit trust in the head coach. Although if that's the case, it certainly doesn't say much for either Sather or Gorton having a good feel for what the players are thinking or feeling.

 

[NikC]

It's been reported and talked about by more than just Brooks.

Who else in the media reported that Glen Sather had no plans to fire Tortorella until after break up day exit interviews? It's been talked about on this board.

If Sather was prepared to bring Torts back and then the exit interviews with the players caused him to do a complete 180, then Sather had no feel for what his players were thinking or feeling. By all reports, Torts was "stunned" when he was fired.

Again it's speculation that the exit interviews caused him to do a 180. Even if the exit interviews "sealed the deal" why does that mean Sather was in the dark the whole time?

 

[McRanger]

He's going to hire the new coach....

And how much of the legwork is he going to do? Is he himself choosing the coach or are his advisers making the decision and he is simply signing off on it?

As I've said in the past I doubt Sather acts beyond a team president role in which he delegates day-to-day responsibilities to his people. And I thought that before he had cancer.

I think Sather's power is significantly more De Jure than De Facto.

 

[RangerBoy]

CON – Hates young players.

Young players never thrive in Alain Vigneault’s system. Cody Hodgson, for instance, didn’t thrive at all except for that brief period where he was totally thriving thanks to Vigneault’s system but nevermind about that. And Zack Kassian and Jordan Schroeder are currently being treated unfairly, in that when they struggle, they aren’t kept in the top six just because. What sort of coach expects his players to continually earn their opportunities? A crappy one.

PRO – Can’t control time, and thus can’t keep players young forever.

Thankfully, Vigneault can’t prevent his players from getting less young as time goes on, and some players have managed to survive his harsh prejudice and age into skilled veterans, at which point his baseless biases fall away and he has no choice but to play them. For instance, Ryan Kesler was a young player in Vigneault’s first year. With no help whatsoever from Vigneault, he aged into an award-winning superstar. Similarly, Alex Burrows’ first full season was under Vigneault, but he was steeled from years in the ECHL, so Vigneault’s hatred of young players was nothing to him. Ditto for Alex Edler, Jannik Hansen, Kevin Bieksa, Cory Schneider, Mason Raymond, and more recently, Chris Tanev, who probably tricked Vigneault by saying “he went to college†and then letting Vigneault assume that meant for more than one year and that Tanev was three years older than he is.
Or I guess the other option is that Vigneault’s core is built largely of young players he developed into stars so the “can’t develop young players†criticism doesn’t make any damn sense. Vigneault’s worst crime is expecting his players to earn and wait for plum opportunities and then make the most of them, rather than being handed the best roles right away. This is really no different from any other workplace, but somehow, Vigneault refining his players, rounding out their games and chipping away at their immaturity is deemed bad coaching now.

http://vansunsportsblogs.com/2013/0...r-list-than-the-lame-one-that-other-blog-did/

The young player argument is BS.