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Rangers coaching rumors: 5 replacements for Alain Vigneault

By Brad Berreman

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 31: Head coach Alain Vigneault of the New York Rangers speaks to the media after practice at Citi Field on December 31, 2017 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The team will take part in the 2018 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on New Years Day. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 31: Head coach Alain Vigneault of the New York Rangers speaks to the media after practice at Citi Field on December 31, 2017 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The team will take part in the 2018 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on New Years Day. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Mandatory Credit: Bill Wippert-Getty Images
Mandatory Credit: Bill Wippert-Getty Images /

2. Dan Bylsma

After two disappointing seasons (68-73-23 record), and perhaps with some input from young star Jack Eichel, Bylsma was fired as head coach of the Buffalo Sabres a year ago. Prior to that he was head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins for five-plus seasons (2009-2014), with a Stanley Cup win in 2009 to end his initial partial season.

The Penguins never got back to the Stanley Cup Final in a full season under Bylsma, though, and a second-round playoff loss to the New York Rangers in 2014 was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back for a franchise with annual Cup expectations.

The extensive time Sidney Crosby missed during Bylsma’s tenure in Pittsburgh  is noteworthy. Over three seasons, from 2010-11 to 2012-13, Crosby played a total of 97 regular season games, and he did not play in the 2011 playoffs at all.

So Bylsma had one of the NHL’s best players, then and now, for the equivalent of roughly three regular seasons (260 games) in a five-season span. That’s not to take blame completely away from Bylsma, but it would be hard for any coach to succeed at a high level with a great player out of the lineup that much.

Evgeni Malkin also played less than 70 regular season games three times (besides the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign) during Bylsma’s tenure, including 43 games in 2010-11 when Crosby also played just 41 games. Yet the Penguins won 49 games (106 points), and a division title, with basically a combined full regular season from Crosby and Malkin.

A coach with a Stanley Cup on his resume and a solid regular season track record has to be a candidate for jobs in a recycle-heavy NHL. The Rangers can get a bit of a head start in their vetting of Bylsma now, and if they don’t do so their search cannot be seen as thorough.

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