Ah yes, the stage that is Broadway when it comes to the NHL. Simply stated, there are no lights that burn brighter south of the Canadian border for an NHL head coach. The hot seats in Toronto and Montreal are the only ones that might be more uncomfortable.
For Rangers coach John Tortorella, his first full season at the helm of the team has offered up a little bit of everything—a fast start, a major collapse—and now the club appears to headed in the right direction once again.
After a miserable playoff flop last Spring against Washington that essentially mirrored this season until recently, Tortorella has been feeling the heat of those aforementioned lights as he directs his ship into the second half.
Suggestions the team quit on him during the 7-15-3 freefall to the bottom of the eastern conference standings after the fast start certainly haven’t changed the 51-year-old’s coaching approach.
The recent benching of the team’s leading (and only) goal scorer was evidence of that as Marion Gaborik sat out a huge chunk of the second period last week in Atlanta and finished that game with his lowest minutes played total for the season (15:48 in regulation).
New York Rangers' Sean Avery, center, tussles with New Jersey Devils' Mark Fraser near Devils' goalie Martin Brodeur, right, in the second period in an NHL hockey game at Madison Square Garden in New York on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
When asked why Gaborik grabbed more wood on the bench then he did on the ice, Tortorella was typically nasty with the media in his post game news conference, explaining, “That’s between me and the player,” before adding, “It’s none of your f***ing business.”
While Tortorella wasn’t singled out, a league memo turned up a couple days later explaining to teams that language such as that would not be tolerated by the NHL. Mentioning Enver Lisin’s defensive zone prowess might be all it takes before the Rangers begin forking over fine money to the league.
However, the combustible coach has managed to keep the focus off of his inconsistent team, at least long enough for his most important player to find his “A” game, which Henrik Lundqvist most certainly has.
While a 22-17-7 record is currently good enough for sixth spot in the tightly bunched eastern conference, the Rangers haven’t shown enough pop up front to be taken very seriously in the post season…if they get there.
Though the trade deadline isn’t til March 3, GM Glen Sather has to be thinking about pulling the trigger on something big. While the Blueshirts appear to be a playoff-caliber club in an overrated conference, the team, as currently constituted, simply looks like a one-round wonder.
Lots of veteran players to consider as trade bait with Vinny Prospal and Chris Higgins at the top of that list. Perhaps adding a defenseman like Dan Girardi (a Group II free agent with salary-arbitration rights this summer) might fetch a young goal scorer and a suitable back-up for Lundqvist. This may even be a case of attempting to reel in a high draft pick if a true contender is looking for help up front.
Despite the tendency to dream that this club could go on a run with a hot Lundqvist, Sather has to be thinking big picture here and look to add pieces that will help long-term as well.
As Tortorella continues to simmer and occasionally boil, the team finally seems to have hopped on board with his game plan—he just might not have the firepower up front his system needs to be consistently successful. The current 8-1-4 streak has put some life back in what was becoming an ugly Garden, though the club shouldn’t be lulled into a false sense that all is right in Rangerland. For a franchise and fan base that is constantly thinking Stanley Cup, Sather has some tinkering to do in the second half.
ICE CHIPS
More from the Tortorella File so far this season: On Enver Lisin’s play in the defensive zone earlier this season, “The guy is back there covering air. He’s picking his nose is what he’s doing.”
At the beginning of the season on the veteran players on the Rangers’ roster, “There’s going to be no sense of entitlement around here. It kind of stinks of that around here.”
On the benching of Wade Redden just a few weeks ago, “He needs to assess himself properly.”
On Matt Gilroy’s earlier demotion to the minors, “He has to learn about the game and I don’t give a damn if he’s a Hobey Baker winner or not. He wasn’t getting the message.”
Very winnable stretch of games will take the Rangers through the month of January as they play a string against eastern conference opponents that are right around the .500 mark. Only Pittsburg (1/25), and road games against Phoenix (1/30) and Colorado (1/31) provide opposition that is significantly challenging.
