A Changing Of The Guard

[text_output]**This post was written by guest contributor and Patreon supporter Tyler McGillick. You can find Tyler on Twitter @TylerRichard93 **[/text_output][text_output]A week after the dust has settled and with various forms of media discussing their takes on what went wrong with this New York Rangers team, one thing is clear: The 2017-2018 New York Rangers were a flawed team from the drop of the puck back in October.

While there were certainly some great moments from this lost season—Lias Andersson & Filip Chytil getting their 1st respective NHL Goals, Alexandar Georgiev showing flashes of NHL Goaltending potential at the age of 22, the first ever trade with the New Jersey Devils (this is kind of a big deal when speaking about “progress” in NHL circles), loading the farm with prospects and future draft picks that should excite every fan out there—there was always a looming cloud over most Ranger fans and one question was constantly on their mind: Would Alain Vigneault be coaching this team again in the 2018-2019 season?

Thankfully, management made a quick and correct decision in firing Vigneault after an embarrassing loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on the last day of the 2017-2018 season, where—stop me if you’ve heard this before—a 36-year-old Henrik Lundqvist had to face 40 shots in a 5-0 meaningless hockey game to put the dagger in the end of a tough season.

The Rangers appeared to have just given up as well and only put up a less than stellar 17 shots on goal all game. The post game presser was spent with Alain Vigneault essentially telling the media why he should still be the head coach of the New York Rangers.

Narrator: He wouldn’t.

So where do the Rangers go from here? Do they abandon all they’ve known before and come into the world of analytics like the Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Carolina Hurricanes, and Vegas Golden Knights? This certainly seems like it would be the correct approach, as nearly every major professional sports champion in 2017 from the MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL used analytics in constructing their rosters.

While you can get lucky in today’s NHL and get a win or two while constructing a roster in a more “old-school” fashion, come playoffs, flaws will ALWAYS be exposed and exploited by the opposition. A hockey team, or any sports team for that matter, is only as good as it’s coach. As we Rangers fans have seen in the five seasons Alain Vigneault was the head coach, he would become outclassed by an opposing coach.

The most embarrassing one recently was the 2017 Eastern Conference Semi Final against the Senators, where Guy Boucher and a one-footed Erik Karlsson made the Rangers look silly on both home ice and in Ottawa. In most circles, this series should have been the end of Vigneault, as he wasted a golden opportunity to reach at least the Eastern Conference Finals again and who knows how they would have fared against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

This is all in the past though, and now is the time to move forward. Jeff Gorton in his end-of-season press conference responded to a reporter that a “Fresh Coach” was a good word in what they were looking for. While the Rangers have shown to be a team who mostly goes for established NHL coaches, this quote cements the notion that even a coach in the AHL, or in the NCAA, or in a league overseas would be qualified.

The pipe dream for most fans—including myself—is Toronto Marlies head coach Sheldon Keefe, who would become the youngest current NHL coach over John Hynes in New Jersey. Keefe should be looked at for his impressive development of current Toronto Maple Leaf players like William Nylander, Connor Brown, Andreas Johnsson, Travis Dermott, and Zach Hyman. If there is one thing the Rangers prospect do need, is a coach to properly develop them.

One final note about another candidate is current Carolina Hurricanes head coach Bill Peters. While the Hurricanes, for some, are in the same spot as the Rangers in rebuilding and developing young talent, it should be stated that on deadline day, it was shown on TSN’s Trade Centre that the Hurricanes lead the NHL in possession metrics. They have had abysmal goaltending which has railroaded their seasons since the last time they made the playoffs.

This factor is not on Bill Peters, he has developed some fantastic young defenseman and forwards in Sebastian Aho, Elias Lindholm, Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, Hayden Fluery, and Noah Hannifan. I am personally not familiar with many of the NCAA coaching candidates that others have spoken about, but Keefe and Peters would definitely fit the Rangers need in developing their young talent.

This is an exciting time for all fans and it will be a fun summer.[/text_output][text_output]**If you ever want to write something for us, reach out! Send us an email or a message on Twitter and let’s see what you’re working on!**[/text_output]