Breaking News: Renney Fired (WITH UPDATE)

Another Update: John Tortorella has officially signed a multi-year deal to become the Head Coach of the New York Rangers.

Well, good thing you didn't "mark my words".

Tom Renney has been fired as head coach of the New York Rangers. Leaving with him is assistant coach Perry Pearn. The two other assistant coaches, Mike Pelino and Benoit Allaire, will remain on the coaching staff.

While I have some mixed feelings about Renny's firing, it IS obvious that a change was needed, and it had been coming for some time now. Pearn, on the other hand... well... good riddance.

In his four-plus years as head coach, Renney compiled a 164-121-42 record for the blueshirts. He transformed a team that had not made the playoffs in SEVEN years, into a hard working, defensive responsible squad, something that had not been witnessed at The Garden for nearly a decade. He brought respectability and a work ethic back to the organization.

In bringing the Rangers back to the playoffs for three straight years, he worked wonders with great players such as Jaromir Jagr and Brenden Shanahan, and got more out of other skaters such as Martin Straka, Michael Nylander, and even Sean Avery, than most other coaches may have been able to do. 

He was dealt a very difficult hand the last two seasons, with unreasonable expectations on his shoulders due to exponentially large contracts being given to mediocre players- players who have not had the ability to find any chemistry whatsoever. The roster of misfits he has been handed does not have the depth or the pieces to be a championship contender, and this is of no fault to him.

Where the fault DOES fall on Tom Renney is with the mismanagement of many players during his tenure, particularly this season. 

His escapades with Petr Prucha have been well documented and looked down upon all around Rangerland. His overuse of his 4th line, a checking line with no scoring punch at all, has cost his team valuable game time to score a tying goal or add insurance scores in several games. (His usage of Ryan Hollweg in game 4 against Pittsburgh cost the Rangers the series.)

Also, it is the opinion of many NYR followers, including yours truly, that Renney's continuous mixing and matching of lines has cost his team the ability to develop that missing chemistry with one another. On a team that relies so heavily on a defensive system, you still have to be able to score more than 2 goals a game in order to win. You cannot do that with lines that do not click. In years past he had Jaromir Jagr to take over a game and score the goals that New York so badly needed. This year, there is no player on the roster who can become such a force any given night. This lack of a dynamic line, or player, leaves a huge hole in the team- one that has seen the Rangers be outscored 43-21 in the last 12 games (during which they have lost 10 of 12).

The fact is that the Rangers players lost faith in Renney and his system over the last couple of months. They go down by a goal and you can see the heads drop and shoulders slump. This team does not believe that they can score enough goals to win games under Renney's tutelage. Now they will get their chance to show that they were being held back and kept too restrained by their style of play this season. They still sit in 8th place in the Eastern Conference, and with 20 games to go (and the trade deadline a little more than a week ahead), this season remains in the balance.

Anyway- thank you, Tom Renney, for playing a pivotal role in bringing the New York Rangers back to respectability.

Though unlikely, I do wish that Renney would stay in the organization in some way or another. Oh well. All the best, Tom.

UPDATE:

According to Carp at the Rangers Report, and Zipay's Blue Notes, WFAN, TSN, and everybody else, the Rangers are in negotiations with John Tortorella (and the Tampa Bay Lightning who still own his rights) to become the next head coach of the New York Rangers.

Tortorella's style, as I may have mentioned in my previous post, is a no-nonsense, attack the opposition, wear-my-emotions-on-my-sleeve, say-what's-on-my-mind style. He is basically the polar opposite of Tom Renney, who is known as much more of a quiet, reserved, player's coach.  Torts coaches to win, and you can be sure he will get the most out of his players- otherwise, heads will roll.

Tortorella had previously served as an assistant coach for the Rangers in the late 1990's even served as head coach of the team for 4 games in the 1999-2000 season- during which the Rangers went 0-3-1. God dammit. I really wish I didn't look that stat up.

SIDE NOTES:

-Tortorella, who has a role as a hockey analyst on TSN in Canada, has been outspoken about Sean Avery and his antics in the past. This may not bode well for Avery's return to NY.

- All four teams who opened this season overseas have fired their head coaches this season. Interesting.

-Is Nik Zherdev ready to become a star?

-How long until Torts makes Wade Redden Cry, and/or crucifies Michal Rozsival?

There is going to be a change in the atmosphere and attitude of the New York Rangers. Whether or not that translates into wins remains to be seen.

-Rif

Take It Or Leave It

Around Rangerland, it seems that a lot of... "fans"... were actually rooting for the Blueshirts to fall short tonight against the Isles.  People imagined that such a debacle would force the hand of Dolan & Co. to rid the organization of Head Coach Tom Renney, and perhaps GM Glen Sather.

There are a few things wrong with that theory.

First, there have been no signals whatsoever from the Organization that Renney is even on the hotseat yet, let alone in danger of being fired after one more loss. Mark my words: Tom Renney will finish out the season behind the Rangers bench.

Second, there's that slim possibility that the New York Rangers themselves could actually start remembering how to win.

Well it certainly wasn't convincing, or even truly satisfying, but Renney's squad got the job tonight- in REGULATION time no less! This goes down as the first win in regulation time for New York since January 27 against Carolina. (Also the last game Gomez had a goal). Yeah.

And, despite the Rangers entering the game tied for 5th (and 8th) in the Eastern Conference, their two points tonight have them standing alone in the 5 spot (with the other teams having games in hand). Hey, as long as you win those extra games you play, you're going to be in good shape.

Now as for those "fans" I mentioned...

Assuming that you, my reader, are a true Ranger fan, I will describe for you the mind frame of these impostors:

• I would like to classify most of these people as between the ages of 0 and 23 - and I will get to my reasoning for this in a few sentences.
  
• These Negative Nancys (ies?) are so down in the dumps, that they suggest the Rangers undergo another firesale, trading away each and every name on the roster for the sake of draft picks. (as opposed to trading to relieve cap space, which may be reasonable).
• In addition, they want for the team to lose every game for the rest of the season, and get a better draft pick in June.

Seriously? Do these assholes remember missing the playoffs for 7 (SEVEN!!!) consecutive years?? I would rather make the playoffs as the 8th seed and lose in 4 games than miss the playoffs completely ever again. 

There is no way that anybody who watched NYR over the course of those years would want this team to tank. Certainly anybody who lived through any reasonable part of that 54 year Stanley Cup drought would love to take their chances in the postseason with a great goaltender. These idiots are moderate hockey fans who don't know anything about this team's history, or about the dynamics of a hockey team/season.

Never root against your team, regardless of what team it is, unless you have money on the game for some reason. In that case, if you bet against your team, you're still a huge Asshole.

I may hate the Rangers, and I may lose hope... but I will never root for them to lose.

Enough of that rant. Lets get to some...

Game Notes

 - I'm going to reference my "Why-We-Suck" post for this one: "For this team to be successful, these guys must earn their money, and not suck at hockey." Well, the "leaders" decided to show up today, and what do you know? Chris Drury gets 3 assists on the night, and Scott Gomez nets the game-winner, and the Rangers get two points.

- Although Gomez played like a little less of a pansy tonight, the fact that he will be credited with a game-winner AND a Power Play goal is so lame. Just because Yan Denis (the Islander goalie) forgot that #19 doesn't shoot hard, and let that dump-in go through his legs, Gomer can feel OK going to sleep tonight. He showed improvement carrying the puck into the zone, and even hustled to a puck or two, but this isn't something I should have to blog to you about as a new revelation.

- *** FUN FACT*** The Rangers are 9-2 when Scott Gomez actually lights the lamp. 

-  ***Gomer also supplies us with the funniest/most ironic/most angering comment of the night after the win: 

"I don't know how that went in. It is just one of those things. You shoot the puck, and good things will happen."

..............................WOW. I want to kick you in the face Scott Gomez.

- With Lauri Korpikoski out of the lineup with the dreaded "upper body injury", Nigel Dawes jumped back in the lineup and played a very effective game at both ends of the rink.

-Also stepping up, again, was Petr Prucha. The kid plays harder than anybody else each and every time he steps on the ice... when he is aloud to do so. Prucha got a measly 8:55 of ice time in todays game. (A minute more than Orr, 2 minutes less than Sjostrom at even strength, and just seconds more than Betts at ES). Yet he still managed to get an assist in the game, AND get in a fight. Prucha is the man, and he is earning much more ice time than he is receiving. 

-HOW ABOUT PUTTING HIM ON THE POWER PLAY??, which still sucks. They went  1-for-5 in the game, with the only goal coming on Gomer's under-whelming wrister.

- The Penalty kill is still nasty, going 4-for-4 tonight. They, along with Mr. Lundqvist, are the only reason that this team still has any heartbeat. Betts, Sjostrom, Callahan, and even Drury get big ups for their performance on the PK this season.

- Something I was impressed with tonight? The backchecking of NY forwards. With plays by Dawes and Zherdev at the forefront of my memory, there were several instances of Ranger players coming back into their own zone, lifting Islander sticks from behind, and clearing the puck out of harms way. 

- Another thing that I was able to take away from this game, and even the game in St. Louis, is that the Rangers have played a more physical game of late. Enemy bodies have been on the ice much more as of late, with Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky doing a lot of the dirty work. When you hit opponents, you wear them out, and you make them think twice about playing the puck.

- Speaking of taking a hit, credit Wade Redden for getting crushed in order to move the puck up the boards to Drury just moments before the captain dumped the puck down ice for Sjostrom's empty netter. Those are the plays that need to be made to win games.

- Having said that, who here doesn't wish that we signed Mark Streit instead of Wade this summer?

- Coming into the game, the Rangers had scored 2 goals or fewer in 8 of the last 9 games. The empty netter gave them 3 tonight. Ugh. The scoring woes are far from over ladies and gentlemen.

- Henrik Lundqvist is ridiculous. How many shots did the Isles get off from right in the slot between the hashmarks? Too many. And yet the Swede was there to thwart each oncoming attack. He even threw in an assist for good measure. They call him The King for a reason. 

3 Stars Of The Game

3rd Star) Petr Prucha (1 assist, Fight)- Prucha, as usual, played his guts out every shift tonight. He created a ton of chances on the ice, and even showed that he can mix it up. PRUUUUUU!

2nd Star) Scott Gomez/Chris Drury (1g, 3a, GWG, PPG)- Drumez, as I like to call them (starting right now), played solid, if unspectacular games tonight. Their stat sheets look impressive, and that is what the Rangers need right now, but I'm still wanting more out of the pair. Each showed glimmers of hope, but I mean it was against the Islanders..

1st Star) Henrik Lundqvist (25 saves, 1a, W)- Who else? Gives the team a chance to win each and every night. If he can hold teams to one goal every game, the Rangers should win 75% of those contests (with some luck). (Note: sarcasm).

We all know better than to get excited right now,  and we should be far from expecting a winning streak. This WAS a game against the freakin Islanders (and we think WE suck?). However, maybe a game against a team that's worse than they are is just the confidence boost that the group needs.

 Saturday the Rangers will play in Buffalo, against a Sabres squad that is right on their heels. Lets see what they can do against an NHL caliber team.

POTVIN SUCKS!!!

-Rif

The Only Stats You Need

T.O.I (Time On Ice) tonight in St. Louis

Lauri Korpikoski (who scored the only Ranger goal tonight)-   8:36

Petr Prucha-  7:56

Colton Orr (who also had a 5 minute major) - 8:54

Aaron *freakin'" Voros-  7:21

How? How do two of your youngest, hardest working, players have the same amount of ice time in a ONE GOAL GAME as a fighter and a retard?

-Henrik Lundqvist should ask for a trade.

-How much longer before Renney is held responsible? As much as I'd like to, you cant fire the team.

-The Power Play strikes again. Hey, at least they didn't give up a shorty. Good Job Boys!

-The next time Chris Drury shoots the puck over the net... 

- Why do Ranger point men pass the puck to each other like 9 year old girls? Give the other time some more time to adjust to the play why don't you? PASS THE PUCK HARD.

-Scott Gomez is officially my least favorite Ranger next to Michal Rozsival. The guy isn't even trying and it's disgustingly obvious. He doesn't win a single loose puck battle. He doesn't score. He does NOTHING positive for this team.

- I'm angry. I'll stop now.

- Oh Yeah! Aaron Voros got his ass PWNED tonight. Was that fight a metaphor for the state of this team or what?

-Rif

Shit. (Why We Suck)

Holy shitty hockey, Batman.

I HATE this team.

 I stop writing for a couple of games in a feeble attempt to be a real college student and look what happens. I miss a few games for some exams and some hockey of my own and the Rangers are a laughing stock again.

What the hell did I miss?

To recap: With today's 5-2 debacle against Philth-adelphia, the Rangers have gone just 1-5-2 in their last 8, their lone win, naturally, coming in a shootout. I'm not going to consider that a win right now because I have some dignity. Make that 0-5-3.

Ew.

Instead of game notes today, lets instead move to some season-to-date, or why-we-suck notes instead!

WHY-WE-SUCK NOTES

Lets begin with some alarming statistics, eh? (With help from the NYR HF Boards)

- Todd White (45 points) and Ryane Clowe (47 points) are among the 53 players who have more points than any Ranger (Nik Zherdev leads the team with 44) this season. Ryane HECHTING Clowe. Look how the guy spells his freakin' name. Embarassing.

- Mike Green of Washington has the same amount of goals as THE ENTIRE RANGERS DEFENSE COMBINED. Seriously.

- Mike Knuble, Rene Bourque, Bryan Little and David Backes all have more goals than any Ranger (a list which includes Naslund, Drury, Zherdev and Gomez).

Now that we got those out of the way, lets move to what the hell is wrong with this team.

Personnel Problems.

- Two summers ago, we were told that the Rangers had signed two first-line centers. LOL. They have combined for merely 69 points, a disgusting -21, and ZERO heart. For this team to be successful, these guys must earn their money, and not suck at hockey.

- Wade Redden. Is there a worse waste of money in this league? No. But relax Ranger fans, we only have another 5 years of him. Unless we can get him to retire sooner.

- Michal Rozsival sucks at hockey. He is so bad. I refuse to spend any more time on him. I don't have enough column space.

- Markus Naslund is going to pull a Shanahan on us. Start off hot, then get tired and decide to be an old man for the rest of the season. The worst part? He LEADS this team with 17 goals. Only two teams in this league have a leading goal scorer with less than 17 rippings of the mesh.

- Brandon Dubinsky's identity crisis. He showed with Jagr, and even with Zherdev early this season, that he can put up points and be an offensive force. Yet, for some reason, he is being told that his role is as a defensive, faceoff-winning center, rather than a goal scorer. Duby's game is supposed to be a mix of all that. Why the coaching staff is limiting him I do not know.

- Petr Prucha sits. When he plays he scores goals and gets chances. The first game back in which he does NOT score, he is benched afterward. Meanwhile, Aaron Voros, Nigel Dawes, Scott Gomez, and Chris Drury all get free passes despite not having half the heart and desire of Prucha.

... Now I'm going to use this idea of the "free rides" that the Rangers' big money players are getting to help segue into the strategic issues with this team. And since the Rangers aren't using their power play, I'll use it for my example. 

The Power Play sucks, and the team should seriously start requesting to decline any penalties that are taken against them.  

The man advantage has been NO advantage. In fact, its KILLING this team- and this goes far beyond their inability to score. When the Blueshirts fail to capatilize on 5-on-4, and more notably 5-on-3 situations, it throws any momentum they may have built out the window.

***When you GIVE UP goals on your "power play", it effectively takes that thrown momentum, propels it into oncoming traffic, under a bus, and splatters it on the unsuspecting face of some 6 year old riding a bike- who then falls off and fractures his leg. He then requires a blood transfusion for internal injuries, during which something goes wrong and he contracts Hepatitis.

Something like that, yeah.

The fact that Perry Pearn, the person who ADMITS to running New York's "Weakness Play", still has a Flichin' job flat out flabbergasts me. And apparently makes me want to use a lot of alliteration. 

However, A LOT of the blame must also be put on Tom Renney, who throws out the same 5 guys so matter how inept they are a man up on the ice. Gomez, Naslund, Drury, Redden, Rozsival. They're out there every time. They stink up the joint EVERY time. MIX IT UP TOM! Show me Duby, Ryan Callahan, and Nik Zherdev with Dan Girardi and Marc Staal. You have to do SOMETHING to fix the part of this team that is the biggest cancer. You can't drive a car without a gas peddle. You just can't. Not effectively at least.

More Strategic Issues.

- The Power Play

- You cannot expect a team to gel when each player has 2 new linemates EVERY GAME. Ranger skaters have not been afforded a reasonable amount of time to develop any sense of chemistry with each other. Every time a line goes a shift without scoring, Renney throws the grenade into the lineup. 

Naslund- Gomez - Prucha/Dawes

Dawes/Prucha- Drury- Callahan 

Zherdev - Dubinsky - Korpikoski

Sjostrom- Betts- Orr

Keep these lines together. Then come back and thank me.

- The 4th line plays WWAAYY to much. I've talked about this before.

- You want to know the difference between the Rangers and the Sharks, or the Red Wings, or the Bruins? (other than the fact that those teams are good at hockey).  These teams play to WIN, rather than playing to NOT LOSE. They attack defenses, they pass crisp and hard, they shoot to score. New York does none of that. Renney has publicly stated that he's looking for his team to win 2-1 and 1-0 games. It's not going to happen with this group. They're just not solid enough. Time to change the system.

- One such play that you rarely see a good squad use is the dump and chase. Why not just pick up the puck and hand it to the other team??? NY skaters are so content with gaining the redline and throwing the puck deep, then going to the bench for a change, or setting up in the neutral zone. You will never see the Sharks do this. Instead, Thornton, or Setoguchi will carry the puck into the zone, maintain possession, and wait for teammates to join them in the O-zone. Go change after you pass the puck to a fresh teammate.

Rif's Rangers Solutions

1) This is the first time I've said it publicly. But It is time...ugh... Fire Tom Renney. His system doesn't fit the team he coaches, and he fails to adapt. He's slow and ineffective in adjusting his team during games, and it has hurt the Rangers on numerous occasions. Worst of all, I'm afraid he has lost the locker room. The players look uninterested, and lack any confidence what-so-ever. I think they understand that they need new leadership behind the bench. (AND IN THE LOCKER ROOM). Renney did a good job bringing this team back to respectability, but he is not the one to bring this team to glory. (Not that THIS team, the way it is constructed right now, can get there with anybody).

With him go assistants Pearn and Mike Pelino. Both of whom are awful interviews and lousy coaches.

2) Fire Glen Sather. This is harder for me to say than fire Renney. I don't know why I'm partial to Glen. Yes, he has crippled this team cap-wise, and has had some players sign head-scratchingly outrageous contracts, but I just feel like he knows how to fix it. The problem with that last statement is that I have been saying it for the last 10 years. It's time for a new philosophy for building a team. His personnel decisions over the years have really hurt the direction and future of this team. Its time for Change. (where have I heard that before?)

2a) Do not bring in Mark Messier as the team's new GM. I just have a bad feeling about it.

3) Hire John Tortorella. Here's a guy who isn't afraid to call out his players and demand the most out of a team. He has worked with NYR brass before as an assistant coach, and he won the cup with the Hechting Tampa Bay Lightning for crying out loud. (If not Torts, give me Pat Quinn. Another outspoken, respected hockey coach).

4) Release and/or Lose and/or Trade and/or abandon: Adam Voros, Dimitri Kalinin.

5) Trade/Release AT LEAST one of: Gomez, Drury, Redden, Rozsival. We need these contracts gone ASAP. And they aren't going to disappear any time soon.

6) Call Up:  Artem Anisimov, SEAN AVERY.  Avery still has to be acquired from Dallas, but that's a formality at this point.  I'll elaborate more on Sean in a bit.

7) Target Via Trade: Keith Tkuchuk (STL), Jay Bouwmeester (FLA), Nik Antropov (TOR), Olli Jokinen (PHX)

8) Do Not Trade: Marc Staal, Henrik Lundqvist, Nik Zherdev, Ryan Callahan.

Reasons-Not-To-Lose-All-Hope Notes

- Despite how badly they suck at this game, the Rangers are 9 games over .500. They sit in 6th place in the Eastern Conference (albiet 2 points from 8th, 7 points from 9th). If they can turn things around any time soon, their fast start put them in very good position to make the post season. Once you're there, ANYTHING can happen, especially when you have a great goaltender (which they happen to have).

- Speaking of that goalie, Henrik Lundqvist, despite the losses and some sketchy numbers, is still playing well. Granted, he can play much, much better, but he is not playing so poorly. He still has the ability to carry this team above and beyond. HE wants to win more than anybody else on this roster.

- SEAN AVERY. I fully expect him to join the Rangers within the next month. He'll surely provide this team with a shot in the arm, and the Ranger fans with somebody who is fun to watch on the ice. New York is a very boring team to watch. Sean Avery will not allow that to happen, don't worry. That man was born to play on Broadway, and the fans will cherish every second of it. 

- There isn't a team in the East who scares me. Sure, Boston is really good, and the Devils are looking.. well... Devilish, but the Rangers, when they have played well, have shown that they can compete with and DEFEAT these teams.

-Henrik Lundqvist is our goalie.

For this team to win, things are going to have to change quick, fast, and in a hurry. Is there a one quick-fix to the Rangers problems that can make them a "great team"? "Honestly? No. But with a few moves- the RIGHT moves, this team CAN become dangerous. 

But I'm sure they'll never make it easy. It will never be painless.

GOD I hate loving this team.

-Rif

Suit Him Up

Adam Graves was honored tonight because he had great qualities that not only (though most importantly) made him a great person, but a damn good hockey player. Determination. Grit. Finishing ability. Heart.

Boy, could the Rangers have used some of that tonight.

Talk about the same old story.

When you play to win a game 1-0 or 2-1, this is what is going to happen... often.

Don't give me lip about how the Rangers out-shot and out-chanced Atlanta tonight. It doesn't matter. You have to score goals in this league. If you don't, your chances mean dinky doo.

If you don't lay the smack down on lowly teams such as the Atlanta Thrashers, they hang around. And when teams hang around long enough, they start to believe that they are a decent hockey team with a shot at winning a match.

And when your team is struggling to score goals to begin with... well thats just not the best strategy in my semi-professional opinion.

Because when, such as tonight, the other team scores the first goal late in the contest... you're in deep... poop.

Score first, protect the lead AFTER you have it.

I'm not going to do a whole shabangabang with game notes tonight because frankly, there really isn't much to relay after this game that I haven't said a jillion times before.

1) The Rangers have trouble scoring.

2) The Rangers Power Play sucks.

3) Nik Zherdev is the lone Ranger who is a consistent threat.

4) Gomez and Drury continue to disappoint.

5) Why is Petr Prucha still a scratch/Aaron Voros in the lineup?

Yeah. Same old thing. 

The biggest problem with this whole equation- in spite of the Rangers current place in the standings, is that it all equates to a very early exit come the Second Season in April. 

And that conclusion to this season would not be a step forward for this organization.

The Rangers need a spark. They need something to get this team's engine running.

They need somebody who can give this team the character it is so sorely lacking.

They need something LIKE Sean Avery. (I'm all for it but it's just not going to happen).

They need somebody who can score goals. Timely goals.

They need somebody who can do the dirty work.

They need somebody who they can  believe in.

They need somebody like Adam Graves.

-Rif

Groovy For Gravey

No other venue can put on a ceremony like the Garden. The videos, the people, the gifts, the fans... there's nothing like it anywhere else in sports.

And let me just say that nobody deserves a day like this more than Adam Graves.  He was a heck of a hockey player, and he's an even better person.

Congrats to #9!

... my Pavel Bure Rangers jersey is lookin' kinda awkward right now.

-Rif