Tortorella will be back next year...no questions asked

We all know Ranger fans are a very reactionary bunch which is why they want everyone gone right now. Most fair-minded fans would be able to look at the picture as a whole and realize just how good of a job Torts has done this season. There will always be the fans that call for the coaches’ head every season the team doesnt win the President’s trophy

Great write, this man is going to take us to the promise land, weather now or in 4 years….

“another voice of reason”.

You have to be a Blueshirt Banter Radio Show listener to get the connection.

Rec’d – well said.

It’s all about culture, and Torts has built that. This team has a clear identity and direction for the future. He has done a lot with a young group and has had to deal with countless injuries.

Firing Torts would be a massive disservice to what the Rangers have built the last two years.

it wouldnt be smart firing him
give the man time, and give him his type of players
ever since Torts finally got to make hockey decisions and could start to bring in his type of guys this team improved
also he is finally playing more and more young guys, implementing them into the system
I like Torts, I just wish he would bitch the Rangers out on the ice more

Agreed.

Only thing I believe is that if things go horribly and tomorrow is our last game, and the team doesn’t make playoffs again next season then I dont think Torts will be here. Or will I and many people want him here. Next year needs to show improvement. We’re in the same spot now as last year but this year is much more improved due to the youth movement as you said and how vital it is to our future.

Everyone that is ready to fire Torts, first of all – this season isn’t over.
Personally, I feel we will still make it, at the last moment – i.e. we will win Saturday, and Carolina will lose. (Last year we won the second to last game, everybody booked their ticket, and then we lost the finale. I think this year will be a reversal. Also, this team likes to make their fans give up hope on them, and then make them feel bad for doing so by pulling it out in the end.)

Just for a moment, imagine that that is what happens and the ensuing jubilation in Ranger land – do you still want to fire Torts?

All that 8k said is true, most of all, this is a rebuilding year. Yes, the Atlanta and Islander games were inexplicable and infuriating, but they have had way more wins that were inspirational and thrilling than games like those two.

You make an excellent point, but on behalf the forgetful, shortsighted and irrational contingent of bsb, I disagree. As was stated in today’s threads by the countless disgusted posters, if the rangers do not make the playoffs, it WILL be a disappointment.
No one doubts that this team has skill, youth and grit, but if we can pull off those victories against vancouver and boston this season, we should certainly be able to beat non contenders with marginal talent when our playoff lives depend on it. This dichotomy should fall solely on the coaching staff. If the rangers were an NFL team, the coaching staff would be fired the day after the season ended.
I think a change in coaching would be a breath of fresh air for this team after the poor finishes last season and potentially this one, and may refresh the stagnant development of some of our sputtering players like mza and mzd, and also for gaborik, who is the centerpiece of our offense for the next 3 years whether we like it or not.
Also 8k: I know you are well liked on this forum and a knowledgeable and dedicated fan, but the know-it-all tone of your posts and persecution of anyone who criticizes the rangers causes me to usually skip your entries.

I’ll give Torts one more year, but if we fail to make the playoffs this year and then again next year, his ass needs to be fired.

I agree it would make litlle sense to change coaches after what’s been accomplished this year. As much as many of the line-up, PP and bench decisions have, at times, boggled my mind and hockey intuition, all things being equal or better, he deserves to stick around another year.

However, the point made about his 3 year process is absolutely key to analyzing his performance and the team’s performance during those same 3 years. Depending on what happens in the next 24 hours, and the extent to which the team plays next spring will play a huge role in deciding if he is worthy of more time, or if he is NY’s next Lindy Ruff (i.e. the coach for the near and far future) or if someone else needs to be considered.

The argument that no one qualified is out there is not a good one. Of course there are. Just like we are relying on a good core and youth in our playing ranks, the same holds true for coaches. Take Badgers’ Coach Mike Eaves, for example – just ask Stepan or McDonagh. I’m not saying he’s the answer, but the point is, there are plenty of good up and coming coaches that can be part of our overall rebuilding process as well…and if Gernander is not implementing a simlar style in Hartford as we are in NY, that is a serious systemic problem that needs to be fixed regardless if the major league coaching staff sticks around or not. I doubt that’s the case, though, b/c the success of many of our call-ups this year have shown that our AHL development process is acceptably similar to the one we are using in the NHL. At least for now….

My biggest fear is not really knowing or having a good feeling for what exactly is the criteria for an NYR coach to stay or go. And that goes double, maybe triple, for an NYR GM! 10 years of Sather that prior to this season had very little promise to show for it and included major cap hits that time and effort had to be spent fixing is ludicous. I would hate even more to see our coaching staff – the guys who interact with our promising youth and core on a daily basis – get that level of freedom, tenure and reprieve without measureable progress and some better level of accountability from year to year or over a 3 year term.

Remember, the bottom line is – and it’s always about the bottom line – “plans”, “I don’t know whys”, “the key is a fast start”s or 82 game exhausting, injury-causing, shot-blocking efforts are merely begrudging consolation prizes if the results don’t consistently produce games in April and May to fill those Dolan-renovated MSG seats….but we’ll still love ’em, of course :)

and the youngest D-corps in the league all year long

Where do we keep getting we’re the youngest D in the league? Going down the list of “Fewest Goals Against” the top 5 are Van, Bos, Nas, Wash, and us. Vancouver and Boston are both older, but not Washington or Nashville. MAYBE we could edge them out when we had MDZ up, but that’s the guy Torts COULDN’T teach.

So after all of that, all of the time spent having Tortarella coach these kids (because they are), get them to play at certain tempo, in a certain system; you’re gonna fire him? Because he over achieved this season?

Torts isn’t running hockey’s answer to the triangle offense here. He’s telling guys to forecheck. He’s running a system built around up tempo play, and we’re complaining about the team being flat every third game.

Secondly, If you replace Torts who do you replace him with? From inside the organization? There’s Ken Gernander, who is the coach of the Connecticut Whale but its been reported that he doesn’t coach in the same style as Tortarella and has a different philosophy. Which with such a young team consistency is vital when it comes to coaching and a team having a certain feel. Also, if you replace Torts, how do you know he would be a better fit for this team? How can you definitively say that replacing Tortarella with someone from outside the organization won’t want to dump all of our young players and prospects to try and get some veterans that we don’t need and will send us back to where we were pre-lockout.

We INTERVIEW, that’s how. We make up a list of possible candidates, we ask them if they’d be interested in the position, and tell them we’d like to set up a meeting. At this meeting, Slats, Shoeny, and anyone else in hockey operations the organization thinks should be there, will ask the candidate questions, and hear what each candidate thinks they can bring to the team. Who would these coaches be? I’m not positive, but I would think we would look for coaches who are having success in the NHL right now, and have a track record of player development. Mark Morris with the Manchester Monarchs or Kevin Dineen in Portland could be good targets. Maybe Paul McLean, who’s been Babcocks assistant forever in Detroit and back to Anaheim. That’s just off the top of my head.

If you think Torts “style” is the only thing we have going for us, then perhaps handing the reigns to Keenan would get the job done. You get the same effect, but clear the air, and let the team know losing won’t be tolerated. The thing to remember is, this isn’t a civil service job, we don’t just have to take the next name on the list. We can find “our guy” and making the move in the offseason gives us lots more options then just trolling the coaches who are out of work.

he’s won a Stanley Cup with a team that was very similar (albeit more talented) to the one he has now

Alex Ovechekin and Paul Bisonette are very similar in stature, albeit Ovi is more talented

and as been stated before he has the most wins for an American born coach in the NHL

And as I replied to that before, Scott Gomez is the most prolific scorer among players of Mexican-Colombian heritage in the NHL. There wasn’t/aren’t alot of American Born coaches in the league. The Isles (then coach) Scott Gordon was our other USA assistant at the last Olympics.

from what I’ve seen in his pre and post game interviews Torts has taken on more of a teacher’s role with this younger team (have I mentioned that this team is still a young team? I have, ok I’ll mention it again) and it seems he’s taking more of the mistakes in stride

Torts blurting out “We teach that” everytime a reporter praises a young player for making a smart play doesn’t mean he’s a teacher. Some of these things he’s “teaching” are things these kids had to know to be top picks to begin with. He has a group of 1st and 2nd round picks who are becoming NHL players, I’m pretty sure no one in Detroit is worried Torts will take their Player Development Crown away.

Yes he demands a lot from his veterans, as any coach should, but he has learned to adapt his style in order to help these kids (see there’s that youth thing again) grow into a true hockey team.

Shuffling his lines isn’t “changing his style”. The only coaching moves Torts has made are shuffling his lines and calling his timeout. If he was doing more adjust the style of the lines to get us through some of the dry spells and lacks of effort, that would be something, but he’s not. He’s benching guys who don’t produce, shuffling the lines, and counting on Sully to come up with a play.

As i said above, the biggest thing Torts can bring is Brad Richards. If you’re keeping Torts, that’s the reason. I’d like to see us put a hand picked “Associate Coach” in place after Richards is locked up, but the pickings for that would probably be a slim pool, as I’m not sure anyone with a job is going to give it up to fill that roll. Atleast that way, if Torts comes out with a problem team again, we’ve got a guy in place to take the reigns.

firing torts would be a setback to the team and system its like aqb getting traded and learning a new offense. ah wake up people we were predicted to be no better then 13th in the conference your acting like we are going for the eastern confernce title 8th place or where ever we finish is a great thing when we were not supposed to be a playoff contender. with all the injurys and new players we could have folded along time ago but torts kept this team together and they never quit and sat they will not quit against the devils look for a more inspired effort and torts will have them going full force win or lose it was a great season and a fun team to watch so lets go rangers and bring it home and with a little bit of lucky torts old boy st. louis and the bolts can help us out on sunday ..

Very well said, my only issue is that you don’t seem to know how to spell Tortorella.

I was talking about this with someone before, the whole “if you hate Torts so much, who do you have in mind to replace him with?” Almost everyone who is sick and tired of Torts has no idea who to replace him with. There is no one in-organization that I want behind the bench… can you imagine Mike Sullivan running the whole team and not just the powerplay? Talk about a waking nightmare.

Torts will be back next year, if he continues to perform in this mediocre range of success I can’t say that his job will be secure halfway through next season though. It is a fickle thing, just look at Renney’s record when he lost his job.

but first off, rangersfan71 is the nutjob who was banned a couple days ago. Second, I know a lot of the negative comments made here were backlash because of our playoff uncertainty, but I think Torts is the man for the job. I dont know who said it earlier, but we DO NOT see most of the interaction between player and coach, practices, sessions, etc. I know were fans and we take the few moments we do see him and process that as 100% of what goes on, but just on the fact that he has a 3 year plan I am interested to see how he achieves it by the end of next season. We made huge changes and its working out so far, so why not keep him until we fall again..so many negative fans I didnt realize it was quite this bad.

Sather BEST be patient with him,or the whole purpose of our rebuilding,young kick ass team is moot. We’re only gonna get better and better,Cally and Dubi STILL havent hit their prime yet!!!! and thats just 2 We KNOW are going to always get better,we have an entire team of young talent….man,Burke WISHES his leafs were this promising,too bad.