There is considerable chatter circulating within the industry that Tuesday night’s match at the Garden against Vegas could determine the fate of coach Alain Vigneault, whose Rangers slipped to 3-7-2 with Saturday night’s 5-4 defeat in Montreal that featured another distressing, no-show first period.
That is probably overstating it and more a case of deductive reasoning than a reflection of inside knowledge. Still, if Vigneault is being evaluated under this type of microscope, then the conclusion that a change is necessary behind the bench has essentially already been made, whether the deciders do or do not know it and/or do or do not want to admit it.
If an organization is unsure the coach is the right guy, then he is the wrong guy. Going game by game only postpones the inevitable. It leaves too much undone. Leaves too much opportunity for excuse-making and rationalizations. If this is just the matter of when, then sooner the better for everyone’s benefit.
Saturday’s first period, in which the 27th-overall Blueshirts were outscored 3-0 and outshot 19-2 by the 30th-overall Habs, provided unmistakable evidence that something is rotten within team confines that goes well beyond Vigneault’s imperfections behind the bench.
The Rangers have been outscored 3-0 in the first 2:00 of games; 5-1 in the first 3:00; 6-2 in the first 4:00; 8-3 in the first six minutes; 10-4 within the first 10:00; and 13-4 in the first 12:00 of the first 12 games.
That is inexcusable. The Blueshirts have been chronically unengaged both mentally and physically coming out of the room for the drop of the first puck. If the athletes believe they are working hard enough, they are delusional. They are doing the minimum, and poorly, at that.
There is an absence of defiance from this group that seems hollowed out by this start that is tied for the seventh-worst 12-game sample in franchise history. Players seem shell-shocked and in denial. There is nothing this team does well. The Rangers have not been a bad team since before the cap came into effect in 2005-06, but let’s face it: It is extremely unusual for a good team to open a season playing this badly for this long.
If a transformative trade that might include Ryan McDonagh, Chris Kreider or Mats Zuccarello — marquee names united in falling far below expectations, but hardly the only guilty parties — were available to Jeff Gorton, the GM could choose to go that route rather than dismiss Vigneault, who is 195-115-30 in 340 games behind the Blueshirts bench and whose contract was extended two years last January through 2019-20.
But an upheaval in player personnel seems a long shot in a league in which cap constraints mitigate against significant early-season trades. And so if the hierarchy in the form of MSG chairman Jim Dolan, president Glen Sather and Gorton believe that dramatic change is necessary, that change likely will come behind the bench.
The old coach Tom McVie was once talking about being fired in Washington. “We’re making a change in your department,” he was told. Then after a moment it occurred to him. “I was the only person in my department,” he said.
In addition to asking players to fill roles on the ice they never had before — e.g., Kevin Shattenkirk on the first pair, Mika Zibanejad on the first line — the buyout of Dan Girardi and trade of Derek Stepan meant that players would be expected to change roles within the team dynamic, as well.
Maybe that was asking too much. Vigneault is exactly the right coach for a team with a veteran core, but perhaps his CEO style doesn’t translate as well with a group featuring a turnover to a different generation. Vigneault enthusiastically talked up the concept over the summer and during camp, but something has been off-key starting with the opening night defeat to Colorado that created a disproportionate sense of unease.
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If the hierarchy believes that a new message and/or new messenger is needed behind the bench, the most likely move would be to promote Lindy Ruff, though the assistant in charge of defense and penalty killing sure hasn’t had much of a positive impact on those two areas, for whatever that’s worth.
One would think the Rangers would be responsive to Ruff, who probably won’t be as civil with his players as Vigneault. This would make sense on an interim basis. But the next long-term hire must be an individual whose strengths are in teaching, developing, communicating with and empowering young players. That’s the future of this league.
As for the 3-7-2 present, if the outcome of Tuesday’s game against the 8-1 Golden Knights really will determine Vigneault’s immediate fate, the coach’s long-term fate has likely already been decided, whether the deciders know it or not.