AV not the right coach for the Rangers

[Paparanger]

When John Tortorella was the coach of the Rangers, I despised him with every ounce of my being. I always labeled him as a thug and a bully. His antics have always shown through as a man with a lot of anger. And he has managed to prove me right on more than one occasion. After almost getting his team killed with all that shot blocking, Sather elected to replace him.  

 

So the Rangers go out and get Alain Vigneault and in my opinion he is no better. If you look at his last three season in Vancouver and his first three seasons in New York you will see that his playoff record is identical. But that is not the reason I am sour on him.

 

The reason I am not an AV fan is his misuse of young talent. At this point in time it is very clear at least to me that he does not like Dylan Mcllrath. This kid is in his second year and has not played a lot of games at the NHL level. Players develop confidence by playing and being placed in situations. Not by sitting in the press box. 

 

With the exception of a few players that made it right from the draft like McDavid, Eichel and Crosby to name a few, most of the young guys have to do a stint in the minors, then they get called up and take their lumps at the NHL level. So I ask you, when does this kid get to take his lumps?

 

Players have to play in order to get better and they have to be encouraged not discouraged, but that seems to be AV's montra to discourage players (Rookies) and to hold them down.

 

In today's NHL goons are no longer needed mainly because the game has evolved where that kind of thinking has passed the NHL by. But yet AV continues to keep Tanner Glass around and has opted to use him last year as opposed to Oscar Lindberg. Yet, he has a player who can mix it up with the best of them and can still play a vital role on the Rangers and that is the aforementioned Dylan Mcllrath. If given the chance and with big Book in his corner, this kid could be the net clearing ,punishing D-man the Rangers sorely need. Afterall, Kevin Klien can't do it all by himself

 

To be blunt, AV is the male version of "Always a bridesmaid never a bride "and that is what his legacy will be. Just like Eddie Giacomin's legacy was "the man who never made that big save."

 

AV will be the coach that has yet to take his team to the promise land. Since this is the last year of his contract, there is always the chance that he may be let go at the end of the season if the Rangers don't do well in the playoff's.  

 

One last thing, I have watched all of the Rangers preseason games thus far and Dan Girardi has played in two of them. I don't see any improvement over his performance last year. But I am willing to bet that on October 13, 2016 when the Rangers play their first regular season game, Dan Girardi will be in the lineup and Dylan Mcllrath  will not..  

 

 

 

 

 

  

[no1sjsharksfan]

Who do you propose McIlrath should take a lineup spot away from? I agree with you that the kid deserves a fair shot at making the lineup on a regular basis, but are you going to play him over Rayn McDonagh, Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, Keith Yandle, Dan Boyle, and Kevin Klein? That is a pretty solid top-six group of defensemen if you ask me. Girardi has been losing a step, but is still be defensively than McIlrath. Keep in mind that the biggest knock on McIlrath has always been his defensive play. Klein is a solid third-pair guy. Staal has struggled, but is still better. Boyle needs to be there to run the powerplay. If you want to take McDonagh and Yandle out of the game, you're nuts. So where does McIlrath play? He's a right-handed shot, and let's assume that AV keeps even left-right shot pairs. That would mean he would take over for Boyle or Klein. Tough spot to be in for a coach. Do you trust a kid who doesn't have a lot of experience, or do you trust a veteran who has played a million games?

 

I don't think it's fair to knock AV for playing a veteran of a untested kid. He's a good coach. He almost won the Cup with the Canucks.

 

And, you have to look at this year. McIlrath will probably has a steady role. The kid is 24. It's not like his career is over. Your defense looks like this:

McDonagh-Girardi

Staal-Klein

Holden-McIlrath

Pretty solid to me.

 

Tanner Glass is a role player. When he's in the lineup, he's playing a hard-checking game. There are teams that you need to play that way. That is no knock on Lindberg, but Glass has made a career of playing on the edge. And when Glass plays, he's at the bottom of the lineup, where a checker should be. I don't understand your argument. There are too many forwards on this team. Someone has to sit every night. Same thing will happen this year. The Rangers brought in even more forwards. Jimmy Vesey might end up in the AHL. It's tough, but if that is your worst problem, I don't see much to complain about?

 

Last year's playoff for the Rangers was pretty darn awful. But can you blame Lundqvist's struggles on the head coach? Can you blame Rick Nash's injury plagued season on AV? 

[no1sjsharksfan]

Also, Tanner Glass was just waived today, and will be sent to the AHL.