Rangers targeting 2 coaches currently active in the NHL.
The New York Rangers are targeting 2 coaches who are already under contract with rival teams.
On Saturday, the New York Rangers officially parted ways with head coach Peter Laviolette when they announced that both Laviolette himself as well as assistant coach Phil Housley had both been relieved of their coaching duties.
The natural follow up to that news of course was wondering who the next coach of the New York Rangers would be, with some National Hockey League insiders already reporting some very interesting names connected to the Rangers coaching search. Most interesting of all however was a report from ESPN's Emily Kaplan, a report that indicates the Rangers are including coaches currently active in the NHL on that list.
On Saturday, Kaplan reported the names of 8 coaches linked to the Rangers coaching search but most interesting of all were a pair of names that are currently actively coaching in the NHL. Those names were that of Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet and Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan.
Sullivan has an extensive resume as head coach of the Penguins, one that includes a pair of Stanley Cups, and when combined with his record of coaching at the international level it comes as no surprise that he would be a desired commodity. That being said Sullivan has been behind the bench of the Penguins for 10 consecutive seasons now and it likely won't be easy to pry him away from that organization.
Rick Tocchet on the other hand may be the more interesting name of the two here, especially given the recent reports surrounding Tocchet's future in Vancouver. Over the weekend NHL insider Elliotte Friedman expressed that things had taken a drastic shift with Tocchet and the Canucks over the last 72 hours, and I do wonder if competing interest from a rival team might not be playing a factor there.
They were however not the only names on the list with Kaplan reporting that former Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella, former Edmonton Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft, current Rangers assistant coach Michael Peca, Boston Bruins assistant coach Jay Leach and disgraced former NHL head coach Joel Quenneville are all also on the Rangers list.
Where do you see this one going? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
