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Owner James Dolan all in for the Rangers’ path forward

April 19, 2018, 8:07 AM ET [323 Comments]
Jan Levine
New York Rangers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Rangers decided to move on from Alain Vigneault. That decision continued the path set forward at the trading deadline, when the determination was made to strip the team down and rebuild. The proponent of this direction was president Glen Sather and GM Jeff Gorton but owner James Dolan had to sign off. Reports at that time indicated this was the case. Dolan’s comments to Larry Brooks yesterday clearly show that he is more than on-board and in fact a clear driver of this path forward.

Here is the full column (
https://nypost.com/2018/04/18/rangers-owner-reveals-what-he-wants-in-the-next-coach/)
and I will have the quotes below with my take after them. The word repeated often is “develop” followed closely by “young.” The focus will be to develop young players and set the plan in place to get the team to that next level. In his comments, Dolan also touches on coach Alain Vigneault and captain Ryan McDonagh. In neither case does he take a major shot at the coach or captain, for the most part choosing the higher ground, though his comments definitely can be viewed as a veiled criticism of each. That shouldn’t be shocking, but comparing how Dolan handles the Rangers, allowing Sather and Gorton to run the team, and his past with Knicks, stepping in often and running his mouth, we should consider ourselves fortunate that he refers to those who know more than he does. What is also clear is everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet. The path forward has been determined, and if that elite player becomes available, Dolan is willing to spend, as he has in the path, and morph the path forward and focus on youth to add that player.

“We’re looking for someone who can develop players and develop a team. We want someone who is going to be able to work with young players — all of our players, really — so that they and we improve from one stage of the season to the next and we’re better at the end of the year than at the beginning.

We need a coach who is going to be able to coordinate with the assistants and the training staff in putting a program in place. He’s going to have to be able to delegate authority in identifying deficiencies and fixing them. Scolding a player doesn’t fix the problem. He can’t try to do everything by himself. The job is just too big.

I think having some experience on NHL ice is valuable, but that will be up to Jeff,” Dolan said, referring to general manager Jeff Gorton. “We want to get the best guy. I don’t care where he comes from. We’ve got a list of candidates, but it’s not closed.


Development. Coordination. Delegation. All the buzz words for coaching and dealing with players in this generation. Being open-minded to adding a coach with no NHL experience, which allows for someone out of college or juniors to blow away management and earn the job. All the above is good to hear and read because that means management isn’t using a tired old script and looking to recycle a coaching hire.

I think Alain was a great coach, but a great coach for a developed team,” Dolan said. “Even though he probably didn’t mean to, he sort of affirmed that himself when he talked after the last game about how he didn’t have the players this year.

He was probably correct, but the next coach is going to have to be able to take the players we have, the young guys we have, and get them to the next level. I liked what I saw in the young guys and so did the staff.

“The guy we hire has to be a developmental coach, I can’t stress that enough.”


Dolan’s comments mirror what Gorton said in his press conferences after AV was let go. His words also echo what many of us thought following the transition of the team to a new, younger base. Build and develop the kids here or who will be brought to New York.

“None at all (referring to if he had any regrets on the tear down of the team before the February 26 trade deadline) ,” Dolan said. “It was the right time for us and we did it the right way. We were straightforward with it. We didn’t want to be in a situation where we had our own people guessing about it.

“Our intention isn’t to be at the bottom but we’re going to do this the right way. I think we have good young talent here, we’ve got a lot of draft picks coming up and maybe we’ll get lucky and win the lottery, but we’re obviously not counting on that.

“We have the plan. Now we have to carry it out. We have to be smart.”


What the above quotes show is that this decision wasn’t just one made as a knee-jerk reaction or overnight. Taking this path was one that came about following many discussions and evaluations. When everyone got on the same page, looking back wasn’t an option. It’s been full steam ahead with all following the same script.

“We need strong leadership in the locker room. I don’t think we had great leadership last year,” Dolan said. “I think maybe we added a burden to Ryan when we made him captain that affected him on and off the ice and kind of changed his own perception of himself. But he was a really good player for us for a long time.

“And I know we need that one great player who can make a difference. We’ve identified some who might become available, and if they do, we want to be in position where we’re able to get them. We’re building a lot of data and analytics into our decision-making. And it’s important for the new coach to embrace that.

“We’re committed to winning the Stanley Cup. I can’t give a timetable, but I also think we can compete for a playoff spot next year and sneak into seventh or eighth place,” he said. “We’re rebuilding but it doesn’t have to take forever.”


The above can be viewed as a small shot at McDonagh and Vigneault. One interesting aspect is that AV’s teams were always known for having the room police itself and Vigneault spoke about reliance on the leadership in the locker room and on the team. Dolan’s comments show that issues existed in the room and potentially with AV, which are bolstered by the team’s reaction following Vigneault’a dismissal. What is unknown is if the current changes will stretch forward to the leadership group still in place, mainly Mats Zuccarello and Marc Staal, but alterations to the leadership group and their responsibilities are forthcoming.

In addition, his comment of “we’re building a lot of data and analytics into our decision-making,” indicates a less than positive view on the stats package put in place by AV. In addition, the use of data and analytics also means a focus on adding a young coach well-versed is using each. That doesn’t mean an older assistant or college coach is out of play, but shows that whoever is brought must be willing to use modern tools and not just the eye test.

I found the remark that making McDonagh captain may have affected his perception of himself. That appears to indicate that McD either changed who he was, how he handled situations or his method of interacting with the team. I know many felt that McD was overburdened with the role, adversely impacting his play on the ice. Dolan seems to reiterate that view with his remarks.

That one great player becoming available is a possible hint to going all in on John Tavares, which has been rumored. Some sources have indicated to me, which has been reported by others and no shock, that the Rangers will be players in those sweepstakes if JT doesn’t resign with the Islanders. Whether Tavares would come to the Rangers and deal with the ramifications therein is unknown. But Dolan has indicated that while the future direction is building around youth, accelerating the timeframe for the rebuild is still in play and New York won’t turn its back on a superstar to only go forward with youth.

The last paragraph above continues the theme of rebuilding, depending on if you like that term. We have use rebuild and retool. A rebuild implies a full tear down and build up. A retool means jettisoning some pieces but not burning down the house and totally starting over. Utilizing the foundation is part of the move forward, so to me this is a retool and not rebuild. Setting the goal of a Stanley Cup win is what should be the direction. Sneaking in to the playoffs may be viewed as a first step forward to build to that higher plateau.

Brooks also wrote the following on Henrik Lundqvist:
“We told Hank that if he didn’t want to ride it out through this process, we’d find a good landing place for him,” Dolan said during a conversation at his MSG office. “But he said that he wanted to stay and see it through.”


The key is we’d find a good landing spot. Parsing those words to me means that a landing spot or trade was not already worked out. But that Dolan etc felt that one could be arranged. Therefore, Lundqvist wasn’t told that a trade was in place and all he had to do was agree to it but that if he wasn’t onboard with rebuilding, then the Rangers would accommodate his desire to go elsewhere.

We have debated whether dealing Hank would be wise. But let’s not classify it that a deal was in place and he turned it down. Lundqvist turned down the chance to possibly go elsewhere not a trade already made. It’s possible management hoped he would accept a deal, freeing up $8.5 mil of salary for the next few years and making the retool into a more broad rebuild, increasing the team’s push to bring over Igor Sheshyorkin after next season from the KHL.

Reading what Dolan said provides me a sense of additional confidence that management knows what they are doing and are committed to following that strategy. Obviously, it remains to be seen how that strategy will be enacted. But everyone looks to be on the same page with the end goal building towards a parade down the Canyon of Heroes.
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