Gerard Gallant was an accomplished head coach who guided the Vegas Golden Knights in their inaugural season to the Stanley Cup finals. Peter Laviolette was an accomplished head coach who took three different teams to the finals and actually won a Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes. Mike Sullivan is an accomplished head coach who was behind the bench when the Pittsburgh Penguins won back to back Cups.
What do all three men have in common? They were all hired by Chris Drury to coach the New York Rangers. The first two lasted two seasons before being relieved of their duties. The third was just hired yesterday. Suffice to say, Drury is hoping - praying - that the third time will be the charm.
As Yogi Berra would say, "It's déjà vu all over again."
It's easy to sit here and say that Sullivan is just another retread, like his predecessors. That Drury should've gone for someone younger; someone like David Carle, the current head coach of the Denver Pioneers - the 2024 NCAA Frozen Four champs. Now that would've been bold; that would've been newsworthy.
That also would've been quite impossible. Let's forget for a moment that Carle has repeatedly said he isn't interested in leaving the University of Denver. Let's also forget for a moment that Carle's name has been mentioned as a possible future replacement for Jared Bednar should he decide to step down as head coach of the Colorado Avalanche. The last time the Rangers hired a coach from the college ranks it was David Quinn from Boston University in 2018. We all know how that turned out. If you think for a moment that James Dolan would ever sign off on hiring another college coach you've taken one too many pucks to the head.
But here's the thing. If Gallant, Laviolette and Sullivan are all retreads then so is Paul Maurice, the current head coach of the Florida Panthers. His 916 career wins are the most among active NHL coaches, and last year he guided the Puddy Tats to their first Stanley Cup championship. One man's retread is another man's savior. It's worth noting that when Mike Keenan was hired by Neil Smith in 1993, the prevailing sentiment among many was that he too was a retread who was brought in because of his celebrity status.
There are some interesting parallels between the Keenan and Sullivan hirings. In the 1991-92 season, the Rangers won the Presidents' trophy but did not win the Cup. They struggled mightily the following season, missing the playoffs. Under Keenan, the Blueshirts went on to win their first Cup in 54 years.
In the 2023-24 season, the Rangers won the Presidents' trophy but failed to win the Cup. They struggled mightily the following season, missing the playoffs. No doubt Drury is banking on lightning striking twice.
There's another parallel between the two men. In 1987, Keenan coached Team Canada to a win against the Soviet Union in the Canada Cup. That team was put together in less than two weeks over the summer, and yet Keenan was credited with bringing them together. Earlier this year, Sullivan coached Team USA to a finals appearance in the Four Nations Face-off tournament. Like Keenan in '87, Sullivan had two weeks to assemble his roster and get everyone on the same page. Though Team USA lost to Team Canada in the final game, the prevailing sentiment was that Sullivan was the reason they go as far as they did.
Of course, there's one big difference between that '94 team and this one. The former had Mark Messier and Brian Leetch; the latter doesn't. As I wrote back in April, the real problem with this team isn't behind the bench - it never was - it's in the locker room. Drury can coax Scotty Bowman out of retirement and the result would probably be the same.
Mike Sullivan's biggest challenge with this team won't be drawing up the X's and O's, determining the line combinations and defense pairings, or how much ice time each player gets; it'll be dealing with a core that for most of last season behaved as if it needed a therapist more than it needed a head coach.
Perhaps Drury should've hired Dr. Phil instead.
No comments:
Post a Comment