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