Well it comes as no surprise, David Quinn has been relieved of his coaching duties with the New York Rangers. What does come as a surprise is all of his assistants, including Jacques Martin who was just brought in to be the Defense Coach this season, have also been let go. Management really wasn’t kidding when they said they weren’t happy with how things have gone huh? I will say, I think they should’ve kept Jacques Martin around, our defense has been so much better this season than it was with Lindy Ruff but alas, the search is on. I guess if you’re going to clean house, you might as well clean house completely.
With that being said, If not David Quinn is not our guy, then who is? There are a lot of names floating around that could potentially be available as well as some in house names that might be worth consideration. We’ll start with a couple established NHL coaches who are available and then we’ll get into some other names I believe are worth consideration for the freshly vacant Head Coach position of the New York Rangers.
Gerard Gallant - If the Rangers are looking for an experienced, Jack Adams Finalist Head Coach, Gallant might be their guy. Gallant is currently the front runner for the Head Coaching gig in Seattle with the league's newest team, the Kraken. Gallant is no stranger to coaching expansion teams as his most recent experience comes from his three years with the Vegas Golden Knights. In that time, Gallant took the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final in their first season with the league. One of the most impressive runs in league history for an expansion team to have the success they did in that first season.
Prior to that, Gallant got his coaching career started as an Assistant Coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets in the early 00s’. He eventually became head coach of the team prior to the 05 lockout but was replaced in 2006. He would return to the NHL about a decade later as Michel Therrein’s assistant in Montreal. In 2014, Gallant took over as Head Coach with the Florida Panthers and stayed through 2016 when he was fired before taking the job in Vegas. If the Rangers want a safe bet in an experienced NHL coach that can help get this team to the playoffs, Gallant is the right choice.
John Tortorella - I have a million and a half mixed feelings about a potential John Tortorella reunion. Say what you will about the guy but he’s had success in this league. Torts started coaching in the NHL in 2000, taking over for the Tampa Bay Lightning where he would spend multiple seasons including a Stanley Cup Championship in 2004. Following that, he replaced Tom Renney as the New York Rangers head coach in 2009 where he would stay for the next four years.
During that time, boy, were there some moments. In 2009 he was awarded a one game suspension for throwing a water bottle at a heckling Capitals fan and trying to spear someone with Aaron Voros’ stick. There was the original fight night at the Garden where Torts started the Rangers tough guys to start a line brawl in a game with the Devils. Countless interview moments not just with the Rangers but throughout his career where Torts got in some pretty heated encounters..
He’s certainly a hockey coach, an old school one at that but at the end of the day he’s been a Jack Adams finalist for countless years, knows what it takes to win, and his results speak for themselves. As far as the players are concerned, his coaching style certainly has different impacts on guys, some like him a lot more than others. Part of me wants Torts back but part of me doesn’t want to see Kakko getting put on the fourth line for god knows what reason that day.
Rick Tocchet - Like Torts, Rick Tocchet has recently announced he will not be returning to his team, the Arizona Coyotes. Also similarly to Torts, Rick has been coaching in this league for quite some time. He got his start as an Assistant Coach with the Colorado Avalanche, and then the Coyotes where he would become an interim head coach. Following that, he assisted in Tampa and became interim coach there as well. He would eventually ditch the interim tag and become head coach for the Bolts for a short time before being fired when a new management group took over in Tampa.
Tocchet would head to Pittsburgh as an assistant and would stay there until reuniting with the Coyotes as head coach in 2017 where he would stay for the next couple seasons up to this point. Personally, I don’t love the idea of Tocchet, he doesn’t have much to show for in his coaching career aside from 100 wins and some criminal charges. He’s done alright in the last couple seasons with Arizona but not enough to impress all that much.
Manny Malhotra - Manny Malhotra has quickly climbed the ranks in the coaching world and made a name for himself. The former player established himself as a player development coach with the Vancouver Canucks where they quickly made him an assistant. After a couple seasons in Vancouver, the Maple Leafs brought him on as an Assistant Coach and now Malhotra has as good a chance as any to make a push for the cup this off season with an incredibly strong Leafs team.
Manny Malhotra has a history with the Rangers, he was a seventh overall draft pick for the Rangers in 1998. After a solid rookie campaign, he struggled to live up to the standards of a top draft pick. He went up and down between leagues, suffered injuries and was eventually sent to Dallas. Then picked up by Columbus, then played with San Jose, Vancouver, Carolina and Montreal.
While he never became the Adam Graves type player the Rangers thought they landed, he did become a well respected player in the league who was great at face-offs and provided teams he played for with a strong bottom six presence, providing secondary scoring. He was a key part of the Canucks team that almost won the cup in 2011, unfortunately injuries really took a toll on his playing career.
This young Rangers team who are often atrocious in the face-off circle can truly benefit from Malhotra’s coaching and the time for him to make the move from Assistant Coach to Head Coach could be now.
Kris Knoblauch - We got a taste of Kris Knoblauch coaching in the NHL this season when David Quinn and his staff missed a handful of games due to COVID-19. Knoblauch has done a great job in Hartford and in his trial with the big leagues, did a great job. Granted he did just kind of follow Quinn’s playbook and let the four lines roll but the team responded and played well under his watch.
Knoblauch very well could make the jump from the American league to the show however if we’re really looking for a change in motives, it may not make much sense to have someone who follows in Quinn’s footsteps take over a team that ownership is looking to shift into strong playoff contenders.
Steve Valiquette - This is for sure one of the more “out there” takes but it’s not the craziest of considerations. The Rangers Organization are no strangers to keeping guys in house, nor are they strangers to moving guys from the broadcast studio to the front office. Granted we just fired a guy who was a former analyst so maybe it’s not the best example but it’s no secret, Stevie V knows his stuff.
I jokingly say he’s like the hockey Yoda but the fact of the matter is he truly is a student of the game. He understands the aspect of the game as a player and goes above and beyond in understanding the analytical aspect of it as well. In addition to being a part of the broadcast team for the Rangers he is also CEO of Clear Sight Analytics, a company that systematically catalogs every shot sequence resulting in a shot on goal for every game played in the NHL, using 34 individual standardized points of data.
Like Malhotra, Valiquette’s roots go way back with the Rangers having spent the highlights of his NHL career backing up Henrik Lundqvist in the mid to late 2000s. In addition to his playing career he has served as an analyst with MSG and the Rangers for the last couple years and I have to say, he does an incredible job. His game day coverage is, dare I say “Grade A”. He combines all elements of the game with the knowledge he has as a former player and as an analytics fanatic.
I also (somewhat) know Valiquette as a proud former student of his summer goaltending camps in Connecticut. While that doesn’t give me credibility to say he is qualified for the Head Coaching gig, I can say that even just from having him as a coach briefly years ago, his passion and knowledge for the game was evident, and still is. It could be a long shot and The Rangers would certainly be taking a chance on a guy with no NHL coaching experience but it could pay off. Not to mention, Steve played with Drury on the Rangers so there’s definitely a personal connection that could be in his favor.
Other Names To Consider
Travis Green’s contract with Vancouver is up after this season and it seems like they want to keep him there. However, there hasn’t been much word on a contract extension. If he becomes available, definitely worth consideration as he’s done a good job with the Canucks the last couple seasons. Mike Babcock is a name that’s been in the conversation as well. My thoughts on him? No. Absolutely not. Babcock’s time in the NHL is done, I don’t want him anywhere near this team. Bruce Boudreau is another that I can’t really wrap my head around so much. He’s had a storied career, he’s won a Jack Adams trophy but I don’t know. I’m just not all that excited about the idea of Bruce. If it was up to me, I’m going all in on Manny Malhotra. There are surely other options out there that the Rangers will without a doubt explore, however unless there's someone off the beaten path that they really believe in, I'm willing to bet they play it safe and go with a household name.
Chris Feldman
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