Speculation: Rangers Head Coach Search (Laviolette being finalized? According to Vince and Friedman)

[EdJovanovski]

John Chabot.

Who cares?

I never heard of him in my life, when I saw everyone saying Chabot I was so confused about why Thomas Chabot was talking shit about our team or why anyone would care what he had to say lol

 

[Trxjw]

Drury made some missteps with his player movement but that doesn't absolve Gallant of being a mediocre coach. The team had no structure and was easily beaten on nights when the offense wasn't feasting on the PP. He comes in, lets the players dictate how they want to play, and then washes out once the players can't figure out how to win while playing pond hockey. Simple as that.

 

[Crease]

Drury made some missteps with his player movement but that doesn't absolve Gallant of being a mediocre coach. The team had no structure and was easily beaten on nights when the offense wasn't feasting on the PP. He comes in, lets the players dictate how they want to play, and then washes out once the players can't figure out how to win while playing pond hockey. Simple as that.

Gallant lost the room after giving them too much leash. You saw it in the playoffs when Gallant was barking at Trocheck on the bench and Trocheck was looking back at him incredulously. Like Gallant was an annoyance, not the guy in charge.

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

I have to say and maybe I shouldn't be surprised, but the reaction from this board to the coaching saga has been... strange.

If Drury rushed and hired a head coach immediately, this board would have ROASTED him that he didn't wait to see if Keefe or Sullivan shakes loose.

Drury takes his time to see who comes available, thinks about the available candidates and is more methodical in making his decision, he gets roasted.

The reactions here tell me how few of you have ever been in a leadership role of any kind and no, assistant manager at McDonalds doesn't count. While I am not a fan of Drury and I am less than enamored with the candidates we have available, it is f***ing asinine to be so critical of how he has handled this process. He is taking his time to think about what is best for the organization based on what he has available.

What would have been same old Rangers is just naming Laviolette head coach without seeing who shakes loose. Instead, we took a different approach. Will it yield the same result? Likely, but not intentionally. I don't agree with the direction of the team, but I agree with the process we are using to find a coach. I think it is fine that they are tight-lipped. There is something to be said for not showing your hand.

If you don't like who we ultimately hire, that is fine. I get it. I'm not thrilled either. But let's quit acting like how the Rangers have conducted the search is some sort of travesty simply because the outcome isn't what you exactly wanted.

Good points all around but I will say part of being a good leader is also 1. having a strong vision and 2. communicating that vision. I get wanting to keep your cards close, and as fans we will always be on the outside, but I think there is a lot of angst due to these 2 issues.

Drury came in and wanted to make the team “harder to play against.” He had success with that in year 1. This year it seems to be more classic NYR name chasing and doubling, tripling, quadrupling down on skill. That leads to lack of confidence in his vision.

And lack of communication should speak for itself. Obviously again, nothing is owed externally. But I can understand and often feel myself how it generates angst in the fanbase.

 

[Trxjw]

Gallant lost the room after giving them too much leash. You saw it in the playoffs when Gallant was barking at Trocheck on the bench and Trocheck was looking back at him incredulously. Like Gallant was an annoyance, not the leader.

Yup. It's fine to be a likeable head coach. I don't believe in the "we need a whip cracker" idea for the next coach. But if the players don't respect you then you're screwed.

This was inevitable with Gallant. I guess I can't blame Drury for hoping that would work for this team after Quinn, but it was always going to go this way. He hasn't won shit at this level and has no history to draw from that would make a player feel like they should respect what he has to say. The team knew he had a shelf life and that just compounds how quickly they'd tune him out.

Makes it all the more apparent to me that the players on this team are too comfortable. If they want to change the dynamic of the room, then they need to start with the guys who are putting on the jersey each night. A new coach isn't going to fix the attitude these guys have when they step onto the ice.

 

[duhmetreE]

I know I'm in the minority but I think I'd prefer Hynes over Lavi.

I'm waiting for the surprise announcement of Sutter.

 

[gravey9]

Crazy to me that this has dragged on so long and that Lavoilette is still at the front of the pack.

Drury isn't helping his own image here with zero interaction with the fans/media after a hugely disappointing season. The silence gets filled with speculation, and the longer the coaching search goes on with only two names ever really being brought up as contenders makes Drury look like he's way out of his depth.

I still think there's a good team here in what we have, but Drury has seemed to go from his inaugural stance of "everyone has to have a role" to "throw darts at the board and hope something sticks" very quickly. The present casts a bad light on the past moves here, from gallant being hired in the first place (which looks more and more now like a concession after Drury couldn't get his pie-in-the-sky, they were never on the market choices), to trading away Buchnevich, spending big at two deadlines, opening the check book for Trochek and Goodrow... All of it feels now like moves made with an utter lack of vision. Drury continues to be referred to as methodical, but it seems from the outside that he's entirely the opposite.

It'd go a long way if he could just do what every single other GM does (sans the ancient and inept Lou in NYI) and just address the fans and media even once.

I'm of the same mind with this. Even if you believe Dolan is the one forcing some of the decisions at the end of the last season, it calls into question whether Drury prizes keeping his job over building his legacy around having a vision and sticking to it. That may not be possible with Dolan around, but Drury's quickly losing his shine around the league. He's starting to feel more Chiarelli and less Gorton. Let alone Yzerman.

 

[Bacon Artemi Bravo]

I know I'm in the minority but I think I'd prefer Hynes over Lavi.

I'm waiting for the surprise announcement of Sutter.

Strange to not have heard anything about him at all(Sutter). Again, he's worth an interview.

 

[gravey9]

I also don't know that I buy the story that players were demanding a change during exit interviews. I think Drury didn't think he could co-exist with Gallant and was looking for any feedback to justify a decision he'd already made. I'm not a defender of Gallant per se. But Drury's the one that sabotaged his own vision for the team this year and hasn't been put to task about it by anyone.

 

[Synergy27]

Any news on Leach? He was apparently a very hot commodity but I have heard nothing about him. There’s only one other HC job open.

Is he just staying in Seattle?

Him still being available, and Drury taking so long, is making me think that Dru is actually working to build some sort of coaching supergroup. I am fine with Lavi/Hynes if Leach comes on as an assistant.

 

[duhmetreE]

Strange to not have heard anything about him at all(Sutter). Again, he's worth an interview.

He's exactly what we need. Bring Knoblauch on his staff so he can take over in 2-3 years when the Vets start crying.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

Any news on Leach? He was apparently a very hot commodity but I have heard nothing about him. There’s only one other HC job open.

Is he just staying in Seattle?

Him still being available, and Drury taking so long, is making me think that Dru is actually working to build some sort of coaching supergroup. I am fine with Lavi/Hynes if Leach comes on as an assistant.

Im not sure why Leach would leave his job as an assistant to become another assistant unless it meant a much bigger paycheck - but if its going to be 1 of Lavi or Hynes or both i wouldnt be against bringing him into the organ-eye-zation either.

 

[duhmetreE]

Any news on Leach? He was apparently a very hot commodity but I have heard nothing about him. There’s only one other HC job open.

Is he just staying in Seattle?

Him still being available, and Drury taking so long, is making me think that Dru is actually working to build some sort of coaching supergroup. I am fine with Lavi/Hynes if Leach comes on as an assistant.

Don't know how that works but doubt Seattle lets him leave without him stepping up into a Head Coach positiion

 

[will1066]

I never heard of him in my life, when I saw everyone saying Chabot I was so confused about why Thomas Chabot was talking shit about our team or why anyone would care what he had to say lol

While you were confused, Sam was wondering if Thomas Chabot was related to Ben Chiarot. He had never heard of John Chabot either.

 

[will1066]

I also don't know that I buy the story that players were demanding a change during exit interviews. I think Drury didn't think he could co-exist with Gallant and was looking for any feedback to justify a decision he'd already made. I'm not a defender of Gallant per se. But Drury's the one that sabotaged his own vision for the team this year and hasn't been put to task about it by anyone.

He's going to protect his own arse first.

 

[Synergy27]

Don't know how that works but doubt Seattle lets him leave without him stepping up into a Head Coach positiion

Im not sure why Leach would leave his job as an assistant to become another assistant unless it meant a much bigger paycheck - but if its going to be 1 of Lavi or Hynes or both i wouldnt be against bringing him into the organ-eye-zation either.

Yeah I don’t know either. I know nothing about his contract situation. My only hope/cope is that the Rangers can pay him better and maybe there’s some allure to an O6 job? Just spitballing honestly.

But I guess the simple assumption is just that he’s interviewed for various HC jobs and he’s not going to get picked?

 

[NoQuitInNewMexico]

Rangers legend Lorne Chabotsky

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Did we hire Scotty Bowman yet?

 

[bhamill]

One of those guys has been our leading scorer every season since we signed him, and is our all time leading scorer on a per game basis.

I'm one of the biggest Trouba critics on this site but if trading Pionk & WPG's late 1st back to them for the guy who ended up being our captain is the biggest blot on a guys record; I don't think that's very damning lol. Look at Drurys record.



Treat Buchnevich like a cap dump for Blais & a 2nd

*Use more money than Buch signed in STL for, on Goodrow, Nemeth, Reaves & Blais*

*Blais doesn’t score a single goal as a Ranger & gets fewer shots than Buchnevich gets goals*

Blais, Skinner, 1st & 4th for rental Tarasenko & Mikkola

*Blais scores more than Tarasenko for remainder of the season*

Bread has been very good in the regular season, points wise excellent even, but he's paid like a top 3 player in the entire league while not scoring like one and has pretty much disappered in the playoffs. Maybe the Wilson incident broke him, I don't know. But at this point he is VERY far from a good value for his contract. If his contract was 7 or 8 million not many of us would want him gone, but its ELEVEN plus million... If it was the Wilson thing that has caused his decline, that's kind of unforeseeable, and maybe it was a good signing. But the same with the Buch deal, a second rounder, cap space and Blais (how he was playing in St Louis after he was back traded/mostly healed up) may not be a GOOD deal, but it wasn't completely awful either. If Blais didn't get slewbanned we may have been VERY happy with him, if not the deal that brought him here. It's a crap shoot, but I'd rather have Drury as GM than the Gorton/Davidson team. I like the type of player he targets MOST of the time: hard to play against, with a will to win.

 

[I Eat Crow]

Did we hire Scotty Bowman yet?

The ghosts of Al Arbour and Toe Blake could be brought on as assistants and they still wouldn't be able to coach this team to a Cup.

 

[MrAlmost]

I have to say and maybe I shouldn't be surprised, but the reaction from this board to the coaching saga has been... strange.

If Drury rushed and hired a head coach immediately, this board would have ROASTED him that he didn't wait to see if Keefe or Sullivan shakes loose.

Drury takes his time to see who comes available, thinks about the available candidates and is more methodical in making his decision, he gets roasted.

The reactions here tell me how few of you have ever been in a leadership role of any kind and no, assistant manager at McDonalds doesn't count. While I am not a fan of Drury and I am less than enamored with the candidates we have available, it is f***ing asinine to be so critical of how he has handled this process. He is taking his time to think about what is best for the organization based on what he has available.

What would have been same old Rangers is just naming Laviolette head coach without seeing who shakes loose. Instead, we took a different approach. Will it yield the same result? Likely, but not intentionally. I don't agree with the direction of the team, but I agree with the process we are using to find a coach. I think it is fine that they are tight-lipped. There is something to be said for not showing your hand.

If you don't like who we ultimately hire, that is fine. I get it. I'm not thrilled either. But let's quit acting like how the Rangers have conducted the search is some sort of travesty simply because the outcome isn't what you exactly wanted.

Thank you.

 

[Daves a mess]

Did we hire Scotty Bowman yet?

How about Don Cherry and Mike Milbury as Assistants for HC Patrick Roy?

I mean, what could go wrong?

 

[LOFIN]

Gallant lost the room after giving them too much leash. You saw it in the playoffs when Gallant was barking at Trocheck on the bench and Trocheck was looking back at him incredulously. Like Gallant was an annoyance, not the guy in charge.

The wording that came out from Brooks or Vincent (can't remember who) was that in the post season interviews players "asked for more help".

You can be a nice guy and give players a long leash, but you still need to have some sort of system and an idea for what you are doing. It's obvious Gallant had no idea, and just told the guys to "go out and play". Well, that just doesn't work at this level, when other teams have systems to fall on and are actually coached to play in a certain way. And it doesn't require a dick to coach like that. Guys like Tortorella, Sutter and Babcock are well know POS, coaching a system. Guys like Cassidy (from what I've understood) and Bednar also have a very systematic approach, but their player management style is completely different.

Some players might need a bit of a hard ass to get the most out of. For some players, that just breaks them. That's why guys like Tortorella and Sutter usually seem to have a shelf-life. Eventually players get sick of getting yelled at.

 

[TopShelfSnipes]

Great post - This point interests me specifically has me thinking. Drury not helping his own image I personally see as a positive. He is not allowing the media, fans or critics dictate his moves. I don't have an opinion, either way on Drury, I think he is respected among other GMs (may of his contemporaries on other teams played with him or have some interaction with him.) His Rangers stint, his retiring as a player to open a pizza restaurant and his personality contributes to what drives Rangers fans crazy. Some of the questionable decisions can be debated.

As far as communication to the fans, I agree but I think that starts with the owner. I am an older poster so I remember the Gulf+Western/Paramount owned Rangers. Dolan treats the Rangers (and Knicks) fans almost as a pain. When I am fortunate enough to travel and visit other arenas, I find myself envious of the fan-friendly experience. The Rangers seem to have gotten arrogant with their treatment of fans and now, at times, front office and staff. I am starting to go off topic but this organization is starting to (or is already) lose it's preferred destination. I heard a recent interview with Jack Eichel and his experience in Vegas and there a small little things that the team does for it's fans and players that I can't see Dolan doing.

In fairness, that's a New York City sports issue altogether generally.

Lifelong Yankees fan, but I have zero desire to ever set foot in "new" Yankee Stadium ever again. Legitimately the worst fan experience in pro sports. Having been to other "big city" ballparks that's do it right, its' not one of those "it comes with the big city" cope things that people use to justify it. AS a Yankee fan, one of the best ballpark experiences in MLB is Fenway.

MSG post-renovation, is not really much better than new Yankee Stadium.

 

[bhamill]

Everyone shit on Reaves, and I get it to a point... but he added a much needed swagger to the team last season.

This team needs at the bare minimum two alpha types infused into the roster.

Cuylle and possibly Othmann. But maybe a hard edged veteran.
I don't agree with the level of softness being attributed, at least not physically. The team hits and more than a few players willingly go into the dirty areas, but we do need some MEANNESS. Even with his monster hits, I don't consider Trouba mean and he is probably closest.