Haha oh boy, I wanted nothing to do with Torts as head coach but I LOVE the idea of having him in the room letting Mika know what a bitch he is.
Not rocket science, but I said before Sullivan got fired, he would 100% be the Rangers coach if the Pens were stupid enough to fire him. Once they did, I thought it was a complete no brainer move. Get it done quickly and move forward, no reason to let it linger. I absolutely love it. At 67 next month in June, I think Torts' time as a head coach is over, he's burnt too many bridges and ruffled too many feathers and is getting older, so reversing their prior Rangers roles is great. I would tell Torts, coach the D/defensive side of the game and do your thing. I think Sullivan is the perfect coach here. He will not take any BS from the players and surely will hold them accountable and make them play D in a structured way. This is a good step one. Next, we need some bold aggressive core changing moves around the draft/in July, I may even trade the 1st rounder assuming it is 11-13 and they don't win the lottery. Then I would name Trocheck the next captain, I think it would be a mistake not to have a captain next season.
After 5 years of lusting after him from afar Drury finally gets his guy. Hard to be anything but pumped up about this, though very funny to remember drury’s dance about “looking at everything”. What we can at least hope for now is true alignment from the FO and the coaching staff. Gallant and Drury were at each other’s throats. Lavi and Drury seemed to be speaking different languages. Hopefully alignment translates into results. I remain worried about Sulli’s lack of young player development. He is from the old guard where the guys who have earned it get to keep it. Besides Guentzel my pens fans friends can’t name a single player that Sulli truly developed from a young kid with promise into a top end player. But for now we can be optimistic. One other thing, we give Dolan a TON of shit (and rightfully so). But not many owners in hockey would write a record breaking check so quickly while still paying 2 other coaches to watch from their couches. For better or for worse Drury has Dolan’s trust and in this case it allowed us to write the big check immediately and jump the process. Now time to remake the roster.
that’s too bad. Was separately reported Quinn isnt’t coming along with Sulli either (thank god). Hopefully they still find a role for Muse and/or Peca.
Good article from a pens beat guy on Sulli's system: Marshall: I use the Penguins Forecheck Barometer to predict success, and you can too - The Athletic Also Sully (like most sane coaches in today's game) plays a zone variation in the defensive zone, instead of the man-to-man fiasco we watched the past 2 years. That alone is already a huge improvement.
I'm starting to think maybe they keep Kreider, as with a full offseason he may get healthy and back to form. He's not that old and has familiarity with Sullivan, but we'll see i guess. Probably 50/50.
Drury's looking at everything comments were made before Sullivan became available. From what I read, the organization felt Sullivan was the no-brainer choice to appoint behind the Blueshirts bench. His availability changed everything, and I get it. I would have liked Torts to join him, but I don't think it's a major issue he didn't. As for playing/developing kids, the Penguins only made three first-round picks during Sullivan’s decade with the organization. They were/are an organization that was in constant go for it mode, even though they shouldn't have been the past few seasons. On Dolan as an owner, money is not an issue at all, the guy spends money like crazy. Dolan is a terrible owner because he gets involved too much and is meddlesome, especially earlier in his tenure, he's impulsive, I also have to think he applies pressure on the Knicks/Rangers to sign fat cat big name stars instead of building correctly. Put that altogether, and since he took over in 97, combined they have zero titles in 28 years. I do agree, he does spend money, no argument there. The Rangers also re-signed Parssinen to a two-year extension worth $1.25M per, and soon the important roster work will begin.
CK should have had surgery on his back, he did himself and the Rangers no favors trying to play through it. He may not be able to medically clear a trade even if another team has interest. I was done with Lav when he didn't have Rempe's back for being a little too physical last post season, should always have his player's back and not let the NHL use a totally different standard for punishment because the Rangers finally have a legit enforcer.
