The New York Rangers have reportedly fired head coach David Quinn after three seasons, per reports.
Assistant coaches David Oliver, Jacques Martin, and Greg Brown have also been relieved of their duties, but goalie coach Benoit Allaire has been retained.
It’s the final shoe to drop of the Rangers cleaning house, which shockingly began last week when owner James Dolan fired both president John Davidson and Jeff Gorton while promoting assistant GM Chris Drury up to both positions.
“I would like to thank David Quinn, David Oliver, Jacques Martin, and Greg Brown for all of their efforts and dedication to the Rangers,” Drury said. “I wish each of them the best in their future endeavors. We will begin our search for a new head coach immediately.”
Quinn was hired out of Boston University for his ability to develop young talent — which was essential to the team’s future after Gorton sent that infamous letter to the fan base in 2018 admitting that they would be undergoing a rebuild following a stretch of 12 seasons in which they made the postseason 11 times.
The 54-year-old was unable to steer the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, though he did sneak the Blueshirts into the Stanley Cup Qualifiers last season when the NHL returned from its four-month-long COVID hiatus. They were promptly swept in three games by the Carolina Hurricanes, which led to them winning the Draft Lottery and taking Alexis Lafreniere with the No. 1 pick.
Lafreniere’s talent was added to an already-promising pool of youngsters that feature Kaapo Kakko, Adam Fox, K’Andre Miller, and Filip Chytil — among others.
An over-reliance on skill and less on grit came back to bite Quinn and the Rangers in 2021 as they were unable to get to the postseason; although it’s important to note that they were never favored to get there considering the temporary, juggernaut of an Eastern Division that many considered to be the toughest grouping of eight teams in the league this season.
That key difference in philosophy is what led to Davidson and Gorton being shown the door, and what will likely be a point of emphasis for Drury and new management.
Immediate speculation could see a familiar face re-enter the fray of head-coaching talks for the Rangers. The fiery bench boss John Tortorella, who was let go by the Columbus Blue Jackets, coached the Rangers for four-plus seasons and led them to an Eastern Conference Championship in 2014.
