NYR close to naming Mike Sullivan as new Head Coach UPD: Named

[Rodgerwilco]

That obsession is where he needs Assistants who will push back, maybe if the rumour is true that could be Torts.. He definitely says what's on his mind lol

Absolutely. If they can get an asst. who can keep him in check and build a decent roster he could have success. But that's a tough gig.

Looks like from some of the posts above that Tortorella will not be joining NYR.

 

[Fatass]

"Definitely" is a stretch. I don't see enough of a fall-off from the top three for this to come to pass, since all three will have other players coming in. I can see them snatch a wild card spot, though.

Sully will get the Rangers to 105 points minimum. Canes will be good. Caps likely good again too. Devils will need to stay healthy (especially Jack Hughes) to compete with this three clubs. Should be fun having four good clubs fighting for three spots.

 

[Turin]

Sully will get the Rangers to 105 points minimum. Canes will be good. Caps likely good again too. Devils will need to stay healthy (especially Jack Hughes) to compete with this three clubs. Should be fun having four good clubs fighting for three spots.

Minimum? You mean maximum, surely

 

[Jared Grayden]

Yea but that garbage is said every year.

Fact is, a good player will drop to 11 this year, someone always drops. Whether they target and land that player is a different matter.

It's also self evident that no disparity between two draft classes at least in the cap era have made drafting #20 better than #11.

 

[Fatass]

Minimum? You mean maximum, surely

Rangers had 114 points the year previous. Added JT Miller. Still a great goalie and the core from that President trophy club. Sully will get them going. 105+

 

[Fatass]

It's also self evident that no disparity between two draft classes at least in the cap era have made drafting #20 better than #11.

Yup. It’s why we have a draft. The chances of getting an impact player drop as the picks are taken.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Rangers had 114 points the year previous. Added JT Miller. Still a great goalie and the core from that President trophy club. Sully will get them going. 105+

The team was 2 years younger and better on paper. I think you're overstating the upside the Rangers have.

Even with a jolt from adding Sullivan, I figure they end up either 2nd or 3rd in the Metro and a likely round 2 loss as their upside. The roster isn't there for them to go deep even with the coaching change.

I don't even think this is something Rangers fans will disagree with. Rangers fans have made it pretty clear that they think Drury has created a super flawed roster.

 

[BB88]

Being the coach of the New York Rangers is prestigious. Big market, big city, etc. For some people that's important. I'm sure the money helps too (it should - wouldn't you want a bigger salary if you could get one?).

Also - NYR won the president trophy a year ago. I think they definitely have issues, but aren't as bad as some people think. I expect them to bounce back and be in the playoffs next year, for sure.

He’d get paid anywhere

There’s the shiny town attraction of course but if you fail there again it’s going to hurt his value moving forward

& I disagree with you there. Yep they won the Presidenths trophy a year ago but that roster isn’t built to contend longterm

That offense is build around Ziba, Panarin, Kreider, Trocheck, Miller. They are all +30y, many of them past their prime and on expensive contracts. There’s no second wave coming behind them to keep the train going

+ they’ll be paying their goaltender superstar money moving forward

 

[Beauner]

Rangers had 114 points the year previous. Added JT Miller. Still a great goalie and the core from that President trophy club. Sully will get them going. 105+

Laviolette wasn't the sole reason for the decline though. The Presidents trophy team was 2 years ago which is a long time in sports-years.

2 years after the Penguins won the Cup in 2017 they got swept by the Islanders in the first round. Shit can change quickly

 

[Fatass]

The team was 2 years younger and better on paper. I think you're overstating the upside the Rangers have.

Even with a jolt from adding Sullivan, I figure they end up either 2nd or 3rd in the Metro and a likely round 2 loss as their upside. The roster isn't there for them to go deep even with the coaching change.

It’s the regular season where (imo) Sully is going to get the Rangers going. Like you suggest they will get into the top 3 of their division. So either the Caps, Canes, or Devils will be fighting for a wildcard spot. Likely that’s the Devils, especially if Jack Hughes continues with his shoulder troubles.

 

[SEALBound]

One of Sullivan's major strengths when he first started with the Penguins was his willingness to adjust (even in-game) to what was actually happening in the game. After 2017, he took on this "f*** you, I won b2b cups, you have to coach against ME!" mentality that was ultimately a plane ride into the ground. If he's willing to humble himself and check his ego, NYR could be decent again.

If you get 2016/2017 Sullivan, good things will happen.

If you get 2020-2025 Sullivan, literally nothing will change and it might even get worse.

 

[Tawnos]

The team was 2 years younger and better on paper. I think you're overstating the upside the Rangers have.

Even with a jolt from adding Sullivan, I figure they end up either 2nd or 3rd in the Metro and a likely round 2 loss as their upside. The roster isn't there for them to go deep even with the coaching change.

I don't even think this is something Rangers fans will disagree with. Rangers fans have made it pretty clear that they think Drury has created a super flawed roster.

That team wasn't much better on paper until the deadline, but a lot this season will depend on what happens with some of their younger players. At forward, does Cuylle take another step forward? Do Berard, Othmann, and/or Perreault establish themselves as contributors? On D, every single defenseman took a step back in the last two years under Laviolette/Housley. Does Fox (although not quite as young) get back to Norris Trophy form? Does Miller take a step forward? Does Schneider take a step forward? Both under the new coach, plus I'm not convinced Fox was completely healthy this year and we know that Schneider was dealing with a torn labrum for all of the last 2 seasons.

The offseason moves are a question too. Does Kreider get moved? There's a good chance. Does Drury convince Zibanejad to be willing to waive his NMC? And what are the subsequent moves that happen from that cap space being opened up?

 

[SyZyGY]

Glad he didn't pick the Bruins.. they dodged a bullet with this one.. very overrated coach.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

That was BS. Very likely Rangers keep this years. Mercogliano is a hack and pulls shit from his ass.

Drury is not for a second going to give the indication that he expects the team next year to be worse than this year and say “yea we will suck next year even worse, so we want to make sure we have that pick”.

And then he gives Pittsburgh two chances at McKenna or he has zero ability to help the roster at the deadline if NYR has a good team next year. It's borderline moronic not to give up this year's pick

 

[thebeernerd]

And then he gives Pittsburgh two chances at McKenna or he has zero ability to help the roster at the deadline if NYR has a good team next year. It's borderline moronic not to give up this year's pick

We are dealing with Drury here.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

And then he gives Pittsburgh two chances at McKenna or he has zero ability to help the roster at the deadline if NYR has a good team next year. It's borderline moronic not to give up this year's pick

If the Rangers end up 8th in the east next year, how exactly does that give Pittsburgh a chance at McKenna with that draft pick? If we were so good next year and we wanted to make a splash, can we not trade the 2027 1st if we were so dead on trading a 1st?

Absolutely moronic to give it up the 11th overall pick this year.

 

[Turin]

Rangers had 114 points the year previous. Added JT Miller. Still a great goalie and the core from that President trophy club. Sully will get them going. 105+

And that season was a mirage + Drury blew up the locker room and Krieder and Zib are declining rapidly

 

[Gizmoskevich]

Got an aging core? Well do I have a coach for you

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Rangers had 114 points the year previous. Added JT Miller. Still a great goalie and the core from that President trophy club. Sully will get them going. 105+

They have Fox and Shesterkin so that should keep them in, but is that forward group ever old. Almost all the significant contributors are on the wrong side of 30. I'm not sure how much longer they will be competitive for.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

If the Rangers end up 8th in the east next year, how exactly does that give Pittsburgh a chance at McKenna with that draft pick? If we were so good next year and we wanted to make a splash, can we not trade the 2027 1st if we were so dead on trading a 1st?

Absolutely moronic to give it up the 11th overall pick this year.

If you're already assuming they're a bubble team next year then it's even worse because he can't add anything at the deadline to help their playoff hopes and they'll be giving up a pick with arguably the same value since the 2026 draft is way better.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

If you're already assuming they're a bubble team next year then it's even worse because he can't add anything at the deadline to help their playoff hopes and they'll be giving up a pick with arguably the same value since the 2026 draft is way better.

It was just throwing that 8th position out there. I think they will be much better and the draft pick will be much worse. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong this season. Some of the country club bros will be traded in the offseason and that will improve us in itself (Kreider). Drury will absolutely do a lot of work this offseason to improve the team.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

It was just throwing that 8th position out there. I think they will be much better and the draft pick will be much worse. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong this season. Some of the country club bros will be traded in the offseason and that will improve us in itself (Kreider). Drury will absolutely do a lot of work this offseason to improve the team.

Ok and if they're better, the point still remains lol. You want that first rounder to help you at the deadline. The Devils are a prime example of the point I'm making, they couldn't make certain deals because the pick was already elsewhere in the Markstrom trade. If the Rangers are a playoff team, you want that piece of ammo so you can improve your roster.

You can chalk up this year's 11th overall pick with what you just said that there's no possible way that everything goes wrong again.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Ok and if they're better, the point still remains lol. You want that first rounder to help you at the deadline. The Devils are a prime example of the point I'm making, they couldn't make certain deals because the pick was already elsewhere in the Markstrom trade. If the Rangers are a playoff team, you want that piece of ammo so you can improve your roster.

You can chalk up this year's 11th overall pick with what you just said that there's no possible way that everything goes wrong again.

Yup, of course.

But again, don't see that happening, neither will Drury.

 

[SML2]

Is he gonna bring Quinny back to run the PP? Dude had Sid, Malkin, EK, and Letang and figured out how to make them not score...

 

[Big McLargehuge]

Is he gonna bring Quinny back to run the PP? Dude had Sid, Malkin, EK, and Letang and figured out how to make them not score...

Quinn actually 'fixed' the Pens PP this season. From 30th to 6th.

He's not following Sullivan to New York, however.