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David Quinn and most of his staff fired, now what? |
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GM Chris Drury in his first act as GM fired coach David Quinn and most of his staff today. Quinn's BU connections to Drury were not enough to save him following the departure of President John Davidson and GM Jeff Gorton. Owner James Dolan's comments to Larry Brooks regarding culture and push back likely sealed Quinn's fate.
This was to be the first two questions of my top-25: will David Quinn be fired and who should take over. Lots of names are out there, question is who is the best for this team. Drury determined that Quinn was not the right person to lead this team to the next level and/or he did not have the right level in confidence to not be looking over his shoulder and fire him if the team got off to a slow start or struggled. I believed more in Quinn than many and think some of the criticism was unfounded, but clearly a disconnect existed with the top players and also upper management, resulting in his departure.
Quinn certainly had his faults, including the inability to get the team to come out of the gate and periods strong for games. At times, his ability to adjust in game was questioned. In addition, the disconnect between east-west and north-south styles was a major bone of contention. But if you think that players did not improve under him or he failed to hold ones accountable - maybe not always consistently - then unsure what you were watching the past several seasons.
It's now become playoffs of bust. My concern is what this means to the current roster and who will be expendable. Will they go all in for Jack Eichel? Price point to obtain a Matthew Tkachuk? How will the fourth line be constructed? What youth becomes expendable for veterans with Glen Sather involved?
In terms of coaches, there is a laundry list:
Kris Knoblauch, Rick Tocchet, John Tortorella, Bruce Boudreau, Gerard Gallant and Mike Babcock to name a few. Mark Messier clearly wants and has been angling for the job. could Travis Green be an option? Sather and Drury are not bringing in a young, first time or inexperienced coach, meaning we will be getting a retread with the hopes that his experience helps this team get to the next level. How this plays with a youth driven team will be a major area of focus, and to me consternation, next season.
I am glad Allaire is being kept, thought Jacques Martin had a shot as well, seeing the improvement of the defense and penalty killing. Torts part II is likely not a wise idea. His style grates and even though Dolan loves him, don't believe he is the right fit for this team, especially style wise. I think Boudreau has an excellent shot, though the problem is his team ALWAYS UNDERACHIEVE in the playoffs. But he is a very good coach, adaptable and malleable to his team's skill set. Messier has never coached, so if he gets the role, it’s Sather driven and he will need a very strong bench coach.
More to come
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