Report: Rangers Contacted Lindy Ruff About Joining Vigneault’s Staff

As the Stanley Cup Final continues to wind down, that means crazy season is right around the corner, and with that comes rumors. Lots of rumors, even more so with the expansion draft looming. The Rangers certainly have a big summer ahead of them, and Bob McKenzie already mentioned on his podcast that he expects the New York Rangers to be “very active” this summer.

While most of the changes are expected to be in the player personnel department, Jeff Gorton may also consider changing up some of the staff behind the bench. According to a snippet from Elliotte Friedman’s 30 Thoughts, there have been rumblings that Lindy Ruff was contacted about joining the Rangers coaching staff. As Friedman mentioned, this is all up in the air still but certainly makes sense after he also revealed that Scott Arniel interviewed for the Buffalo and Florida coaching vacancies.

Lindy Ruff is definitely an intriguing name, as he was considered the other favorite back in 2013 before the Rangers eventually hired Alain Vigneault. Which makes the situation even more interesting. Would the Rangers potentially bringing in Ruff be viewed as a shot across the bow aimed directly at Alain Vigneault? Or would it be a move strictly based on making the coaching staff stronger by bringing in a known commodity?

Time will tell of course. There’s also the possibility that this never even comes to fruition, but it’s definitely something worth keeping an eye on.