Well, this post was supposed to be the 2013 New York Rangers post-mortem. Who should stay, who should go, and defusing the panic over the Henrik Lundqvist contract situation.
All that changes today.
The Rangers fired head coach John Tortorella today, a shocking move considering he was two years removed from an Eastern Conference final appearance and a trip to the second round this past season.
It is a shock considering tumultuous circumstances such as a lack of a training camp, a 48-game schedule, and a huge roster turnover.
Many fans and pundits became weary of Torts' defense first, shot blocking, sacrifice offense for defensive assignments system. Others were weary of his confrontational attitude toward the media and his players.
Despite all this, the consensus was that he at least deserved one more season to get the Rangers to a Stanley Cup.
Now, he is gone.
Why the sudden departure? It's simple.
Henrik Lundqvist is a free agent after next season. He is undoubtedly the Rangers' superstar and most important and valuable player. After the season, he made disturbing comments about his future with the Rangers, declining to say he wanted to stay in New York. Throughout the season, Lundqvist made backhanded comments to the press regarding the Rangers' lack of offense and absolute ineptitude on the power play.
At 31, Lundqvist will be past his prime in a few years, and is desperate to win a Stanley Cup. He isn't getting any younger.
These disturbing comments, and the specter of father time most likely scared the pants off General Manager Glen Sather. He cannot afford to let Lundqvist walk away. He has to make him happy, and if it meant changing the coach, and the system, so be it.
It is possible the other star players on the roster, such as Rick Nash, Ryan Callahan, and Brad Richards, echoed Lundqvist's sentiments. A prevailing thought in the media and social media universe was that Tortorella lost the locker room this year. That is entirely possible, too.
Whatever the reason, one has to believe the main purpose of this move is to keep their superstar goaltender happy. The Rangers cannot afford to lose him. If they do, you can bet the Rangers will return to the dark years of 1998-2004.
If Henrik disapproved of Torts' system and tactics, a change needed to be made. Immediately.
Step one of keeping King Henrik happy is complete. Step two is working on a contract extension. Step three is hiring the right coach to replace Torts.
Conventional wisdom dictates the Rangers should pursue an offensive-minded coach, especially to help with the Power Play. Names such as former Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault comes to mind. If the Rangers want to go for the big name, Vigneault is the most logical choice.
Other names that come to mind are former Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff, Ranger immortal Mark Messier, or the Rangers' AHL coach, Ken Gernander. However, Ruff is a defensive-minded coach and is not the best fit. Messier has never coached at any level. And Gernander is not NHL-tested.
One dark horse many have failed to mention is Islanders assistant coach Doug Weight. Weight is a former Ranger draft pick that started his career on Broadway. As Isles assistant, he turned their power play into a dangerous force that gave the Pittsburgh Penguins fits in the first round of the playoffs. He is articulate, well-spoken, and is an excellent communicator. The Ranger players would love him, and he could potentially fix the Rangers' broken power play.
Most of all, this offensive mindset will allow youngsters like Chris Kreider and J.T. Miller to flourish, stars like Rick Nash to play his game, and to even fix Brad Richards, assuming he isn't bought out.
Most of all, it will make their franchise goaltender happy.
It's unfortunate the Tortorella era had to end this way. He probably didn't deserve his dismissal.
But in the long run, it may have been necessary.
The Rangers' offseason is off to a bang.
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