Great, lose hank and we're back to the days of ndved. Terrible team. Have to keep hank and get him some offense!!!!
correct me if i am wrong here, but isn't that why you guys brought in richards and traded for nash. :corn:
this is an ongoing and possibly the most consistent thing about NYR. Bringing in people to solve everything to go dud.
Ie : Bobby Holik, Petr Nedved round 2 , Scott Gomez ( STOP Signing former Devils ! )
Donald Brashear , Michael Rozsival , as much as I loved him and even met him at Pearl Jam show in 2003 :
Darius Kasparaits , Cris Drury , & Wade Redden - amongst many others.
For whatever reason some players hit the wall when they arrive in NY, are then traded,
and go on to flourish elsewhere.
Talk about snakebitten .
For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES http://www.UNOS.org
Donate Organs and Save a Life
New York, May 29, 2013 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that head coach John Tortorella has been relieved of his coaching duties.
Under Tortorella’s guidance, the Rangers posted their second most wins all-time in a single season with 51, and tied for second in franchise history with 109 points in 2011-12. He became the 30th coach in NHL history to coach 800 games on March 27, 2012, at Minnesota (3-2 win), and won his 100th game as Rangers Head Coach with a 5-3 win on November 5, 2011, vs. Montreal. On March 26, 2013, Tortorella became the 30th head coach in league history to register his 400th NHL coaching victory, with a 5-2 win at Philadelphia. He also passed Tom Renney for fourth on the Rangers' all-time coaching wins list with a 3-2 shootout victory on April 10, 2013 vs. Toronto.
Tortorella was named the 34th head coach in franchise history on February 23, 2009. He ranks first on the NHL’s all-time wins list among U.S.-born coaches with 410 career victories, having passed Peter Laviolette with a 4-3 shootout win at Montreal on March 17, 2009.
Prior to returning to the Rangers, Tortorella served as Head Coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning for seven seasons. Under his guidance, Tampa Bay compiled a 239-222-36-38 record in 535 games. He led the Lightning to four consecutive Stanley Cup Playoff appearances, including two Southeast Division Championships in 2002-03 and 2003-04. In 2003-04, Tortorella guided Tampa Bay to a franchise record 46 wins and 106 points, and went on to capture the only Stanley Cup Championship in franchise history. He was awarded the Jack Adams Award as the National Hockey League’s top coach following that season.
Tortorella joined Tampa Bay following a one-year stint with the Rangers in 1999-2000 where he was an Assistant Coach and served as Head Coach for the final four games of the season. Prior to joining the Rangers, he spent two seasons as an Assistant Coach with the Phoenix Coyotes. He joined Phoenix during the 1997-98 season, after spending the previous eight seasons with the Buffalo Sabres organization. Tortorella served as an Assistant Coach with the Sabres from 1989-90 to 1994-95 and as Head Coach with their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rochester Americans, during the 1995-96 and 1996-97 campaigns. He guided the club to the Calder Cup championship in 1995-96, and followed that up by posting the AHL Northern Conference’s best record during the 1996-97 regular season.
Tortorella began his tenure behind the bench with the Virginia Lancers of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League (ACHL), where he spent two seasons as General Manager and Head Coach from 1986-87 to 1987-88 and immediately established himself as one of the league’s best. In two seasons with the Lancers, Tortorella compiled a 73-24-1-0 record to earn Coach of the Year honors both seasons, along with the league championship during the 1986-87 campaign. Following the 1987-88 season, Tortorella joined the Fort Wayne Komets of the International Hockey League (IHL) during their 1988 playoff run before serving as an Assistant Coach with the New Haven Nighthawks (AHL) in 1988-89.
Tortorella also served as an assistant coach for the silver medal-winning Team USA at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada. He also served as head coach for Team USA at the 2008 World Championship, and was an assistant coach at the 2005 World Championship.
Reading 2004
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016 Fenway 2, 2018 MSG 2022 St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023 MSG 2024, MSG 2024 Philadelphia 2024
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
relieved, dismissed,whatever,...
i'm not really surprised by this.
SATHER press conference at 2;15pm eastern time
For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES http://www.UNOS.org
Donate Organs and Save a Life
For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES http://www.UNOS.org
Donate Organs and Save a Life
For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES http://www.UNOS.org
Donate Organs and Save a Life
Had to happen
Slats should be right behind him
Get a D and some scoring forwards in the playoffs - Henrik stays - guaranteed
Liked Torts - but he got old, his message tired and he weared thin on most of the guys.
Who steps up, coaches this club and gets this team advanced???
Shall be intesting...
Torts won't be out of work long..a team like Vancouver will gobble him up
wow, as hard as it is to dispute it, i agreed with bathy and thought they would give him one more year with a full training camp to turn things around.
hank speaks up and he gets fired? :think:
i love messier, but i don't know why everyone thinks he will make a fantastic coach with no coaching experience. have him spend a couple seasons with the wolf pack to mold him behind the bench before he jumps behind the bench at the garden.
with a new coach coming in, are we going to look mighty dumb for letting gaborik, a 40/50 goal score walk because he didn't fit into tortorella's system? :fp:
this team kills me
0
81
Needing a ride to Forest Hills and a ounce of weed. Please inquire within. Thanks. Or not. Posts: 58,276
with a new coach coming in, are we going to look mighty dumb for letting gaborik, a 40/50 goal score walk because he didn't fit into tortorella's system? :fp:
The return you guys got for Gaborik was great. I dont see why you're complaining.
I would take that trade 5 out of 5 times.
And so you see, I have come to doubt All that I once held as true I stand alone without beliefs The only truth I know is you.
with a new coach coming in, are we going to look mighty dumb for letting gaborik, a 40/50 goal score walk because he didn't fit into tortorella's system? :fp:
The return you guys got for Gaborik was great. I dont see why you're complaining.
I would take that trade 5 out of 5 times.
brassard will be a stud, haven't seen dorsett yet, and moore has been okay.
80 goal combination between nash and gaborik in a full season isn't too shabby under an offensive coaching style rather than tort's break a limb to block a shot mentality. brassard has quickly become a fan favorite, and if the rangers had an eye on him, they could have make other moves to get him. dorsett? concusion problems? wouldn't look into that as a real long term investment.
want to score goals? you keep goal scores around. tortorella would rather have lundqvist post a shut out every game and hope the other team knocks the puck in their own net.
The dirty laundry was not about to be publicly aired Wednesday afternoon when Rangers general manager Glen Sather announced the firing of coach John Tortorella.
“It wasn’t one thing, and I’m not going to speculate or start to criticize what happened with Torts and give you a lot of reasons why we decided to do this,” Sather said on a conference call. “After the analytical work we do every year at the end of season trying to decide how we’re going to improve the team and how we’re going to move forward, this is a decision we made, a decision that was consulted with some people so that everyone knew what was going to happen.”
Sather did say that Tortorella was shocked to hear the news, but that he took it like a gentleman. The decision is believed to be unrelated to the team’s 2012-13 regular-season record and second-round playoff elimination, but rather to the core belief by management that the club’s players had grown weary of Tortorella’s overbearing personality.
“Removing anybody from the coaching role of the New York Rangers is a difficult decision,” Sather said, “but I think I made the right decision so that we can go forward in another direction.”
WATCH: THE POST'S FIVE FAVORITE TORTS MOMENTS
One year after making it to the conference finals, the Rangers lost this season a round earlier, falling in five games to the Bruins in the Eastern Conference semifinals. There seemed to be conflicting sentiments about the season coming from Tortorella and from his locker room, specifically franchise goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.
During Monday’s break-up day, Lundqvist called the season “a step back.” Minutes later, Tortorella vehemently disagreed, calling it instead, “a sideways step.”
“What Henirk was talking about was last year we got into the conference finals, this year we didn’t make that,” Sather said. “I think that’s what he was referring to. As far as I’m concerned, if you’re not in the Stanley Cup [finals] and you’re not there winning it, your season has not been a success. The ultimate goal is to win the Stanley Cup here, so anytime that we don’t get there, I don’t think we’ve achieved our goal.”
Lundqvist is going to be a free agent after this coming season, and it seems as if the team doesn’t wrap him up with a long-term deal before training camp starts, then he might have one foot out the door. To say that Sather had to choose between Lundqvist and Tortorella is nothing more than wild speculation, yet the GM said his plan is for the reigning Vezina Trophy winner to stay in New York for good.
“We plan on signing Henrik to a long-term contract,” Sather said. “I’m not going to make any public comments on the negotiations, how and when they’re going to take place. But it had nothing to do with this. This was a decision that I made.”
A decision that Sather also said he had a hand in was scratching former Conn Smythe winner Brad Richards for the final two games of the Bruins series. Richards, 33, is due $6.67 million per year until 2019-20, and because of the precipitous decline in his game has become a prime candidate for the Rangers’ final amnesty buyout. Sather can use that either this summer or next to send Richards packing and wipe his cap hit off their books.
“That’s a decision we’re going to make later at our organizational meetings [in late June],” Sather said about Richards. “At this time, I’m not thinking about that. I’m trying to deal with this situation and move forward.”
As for moving forward, Sather continued to be evasive about the type of coach he would like to hire. Yet he did point out there are similarities between the teams still alive fighting for the Stanley Cup – the Penguins and Bruins in the East finals, and the Kings set to take on the winner of Wednesday night’s Game 7 between the Blackhawks and Red Wings.
“If you look at the teams that are going to be contending for the Stanley Cup, there are specific ingredients that every team has and some teams don’t have,” Sather said. “I’d like to take the best of what those teams have and integrate them into our team.”
The most logical choices out there for possible replacements start with Lindy Ruff, the longtime coach of the Sabres who was fired early in the year. After him comes former Canucks headman Alain Vigneault, and then possibly Dave Tippett, whose contract with the Coyotes expires on June 30.
“There are a lot of factors when you go looking for someone to develop and help your team get us to your ultimate goal,” Sather said. “And as you know it’s not an easy thing to achieve, but we have to keep striving to get there.”
The striving continues, but now it goes on without Tortorella.
<!-- e --><a href="mailto:bcyrgalis@nypost.com">bcyrgalis@nypost.com</a><!-- e -->
For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES http://www.UNOS.org
Donate Organs and Save a Life
What if Torts shaves his moustache and applies again?
questionable.
wonder what kind of article larry brooks is typing up right now.
Brooks column today the day after
There was widespread discord amongst the entire roster.
Gotta love Gabbys tweet from Columbus.
Players made it clear to Sather coach’s act was wearing thin
By LARRY BROOKS
Last Updated: 7:45 AM, May 30, 2013
Glen Sather said yesterday the decision to fire John Tortorella was his. The reality is the players made the decision for the club president and general manager.
The Rangers players had had enough of the coach and they said so during their exit meetings on Monday. Sources have confirmed Sather had no intention of dismissing Tortorella in the wake of the team’s second-round elimination by the Bruins until a critical mass of players informed the GM that the coach’s overbearing personality had become a roadblock to success.
When Henrik Lundqvist told the press Monday he would need time to think about committing his future to the Rangers, that was the tip of the iceberg. The franchise goaltender did not sing an executioner’s song, but we’ve learned that he was troubled enough by what had become a deteriorating dynamic between the coach and his teammates that he believed it was necessary to give voice to it.
We’re told that though there were no ultimatums issued by the players, the overwhelming sentiment was that Tortorella had become the problem rather than the solution for the Rangers, who are now going on 20 years and 19 seasons since their last Stanley Cup in 1994.
In the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s Game 5 defeat in Boston, Tortorella blamed himself for being unable to get the best out of the Rangers’ top players. On Monday, at what turned out to be his own exit interview with the media, he blamed himself for not being able to get the team properly prepared for the second-round series.
Sather refused to indict Tortorella for anything during yesterday’s conference call with the press. He refused to identify a reason for the move, acknowledging that he was being “vague.” Clearly, he did not want to leave the impression his players had blood on their hands, or that the team faced the prospect of an in-season mutiny if camp opened in September with Tortorella still in place.
The GM, who confirmed that he will continue in that position, did talk about “a shelf life” for coaches. And while Sather was accurate in suggesting all coaches have a shelf life, for those with the unyielding, acerbic, critical approach of Tortorella, seasons of “sideways steps,” lead to steps out the door.
It is difficult to paint a broad brush over Tortorella’s regime. Marian Gaborik had two of his best seasons playing for him as well as his two worst before finally being forced out the door, a victim of barely disguised scapegoating. Chris Kreider couldn’t have met with a more skeptical coach, yet young players such as Derek Stepan and Ryan McDonagh blossomed quickly playing for him.
(Tortorella incredibly warned the press not to “interfere” with his relationship with Gaborik hours after No. 10 had been shipped to Columbus at the deadline. Yesterday afternoon, Gaborik posted, “Everything happens for a reason...” on his Twitter account.)
Tortorella would not modify his zealous safety-first, block-every-shot approach to fit his personnel. He demanded that every player, regardless of talent, adapt to him. The 2012-13 Rangers were not the 2011-12 Black-and-Blueshirts, yet he would not adjust his blueprint.
But it wasn’t the demanding on-ice style that finally grinded down the Rangers. It was, we’re told, the harshness with which he too often interacted with the athletes. The angry public face of Tortorella was too often the private face, as well.
In addition, Tortorella’s occasionally brutal public cut-downs of his players were doing no good for the organization. The Carl Hagelin “stinks” on the power play bit drew laughs from his audience, but we’re told that Tortorella’s outburst in Buffalo following the March 12, 3-1 defeat in which he said he was “disgusted” with his top players was not at all well received inside the room or across the industry.
The needle had moved forward under Tortorella, but progress was nil this year and threatened going forward. Players had become afraid of making mistakes; fearful of the reprisal at the coach’s command. His way or no way might not have been a road to exactly nowhere, but it was leading toward a dead end.
A fresh approach will be sought by Sather. The Blueshirts require an individual with a constructive, positive voice who will maximize the team’s talent. They need a face who will represent the franchise and the fan-base with pride. There is no doubt that Mark Messier embodies those attributes, though it is unclear whether No. 11’s absence of coaching experience would rule him out of serious consideration for the job.
Tortorella always said that what happened in the room would stay in the room. On Monday, it all made its way into the players’ exit meetings with Sather.
When the meetings had ended, when the extent of the players’ alienation from the coach had become clear, it wasn’t about steps back or steps sideways, it was about Tortorella being told to step down.
<!-- e --><a href="mailto:larry.brooks@nypost.com">larry.brooks@nypost.com</a><!-- e -->
For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES http://www.UNOS.org
Donate Organs and Save a Life
Ruff is the same way. Players wont like him either.
When does any blame get put on Sather?
definitely agree !
I think this was his 7th firing of a coach under his tenure.
For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES http://www.UNOS.org
Donate Organs and Save a Life
Comments
correct me if i am wrong here, but isn't that why you guys brought in richards and traded for nash. :corn:
You're correct, but we didn't know richie would tank in his 2nd year. Nash will be alright.
this is an ongoing and possibly the most consistent thing about NYR. Bringing in people to solve everything to go dud.
Ie : Bobby Holik, Petr Nedved round 2 , Scott Gomez ( STOP Signing former Devils ! )
Donald Brashear , Michael Rozsival , as much as I loved him and even met him at Pearl Jam show in 2003 :
Darius Kasparaits , Cris Drury , & Wade Redden - amongst many others.
For whatever reason some players hit the wall when they arrive in NY, are then traded,
and go on to flourish elsewhere.
Talk about snakebitten .
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES
http://www.UNOS.org
Donate Organs and Save a Life
well.
JOHN TORTORELLA RELIEVED OF COACHING DUTIES
New York, May 29, 2013 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that head coach John Tortorella has been relieved of his coaching duties.
Under Tortorella’s guidance, the Rangers posted their second most wins all-time in a single season with 51, and tied for second in franchise history with 109 points in 2011-12. He became the 30th coach in NHL history to coach 800 games on March 27, 2012, at Minnesota (3-2 win), and won his 100th game as Rangers Head Coach with a 5-3 win on November 5, 2011, vs. Montreal. On March 26, 2013, Tortorella became the 30th head coach in league history to register his 400th NHL coaching victory, with a 5-2 win at Philadelphia. He also passed Tom Renney for fourth on the Rangers' all-time coaching wins list with a 3-2 shootout victory on April 10, 2013 vs. Toronto.
Tortorella was named the 34th head coach in franchise history on February 23, 2009. He ranks first on the NHL’s all-time wins list among U.S.-born coaches with 410 career victories, having passed Peter Laviolette with a 4-3 shootout win at Montreal on March 17, 2009.
Prior to returning to the Rangers, Tortorella served as Head Coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning for seven seasons. Under his guidance, Tampa Bay compiled a 239-222-36-38 record in 535 games. He led the Lightning to four consecutive Stanley Cup Playoff appearances, including two Southeast Division Championships in 2002-03 and 2003-04. In 2003-04, Tortorella guided Tampa Bay to a franchise record 46 wins and 106 points, and went on to capture the only Stanley Cup Championship in franchise history. He was awarded the Jack Adams Award as the National Hockey League’s top coach following that season.
Tortorella joined Tampa Bay following a one-year stint with the Rangers in 1999-2000 where he was an Assistant Coach and served as Head Coach for the final four games of the season. Prior to joining the Rangers, he spent two seasons as an Assistant Coach with the Phoenix Coyotes. He joined Phoenix during the 1997-98 season, after spending the previous eight seasons with the Buffalo Sabres organization. Tortorella served as an Assistant Coach with the Sabres from 1989-90 to 1994-95 and as Head Coach with their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rochester Americans, during the 1995-96 and 1996-97 campaigns. He guided the club to the Calder Cup championship in 1995-96, and followed that up by posting the AHL Northern Conference’s best record during the 1996-97 regular season.
Tortorella began his tenure behind the bench with the Virginia Lancers of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League (ACHL), where he spent two seasons as General Manager and Head Coach from 1986-87 to 1987-88 and immediately established himself as one of the league’s best. In two seasons with the Lancers, Tortorella compiled a 73-24-1-0 record to earn Coach of the Year honors both seasons, along with the league championship during the 1986-87 campaign. Following the 1987-88 season, Tortorella joined the Fort Wayne Komets of the International Hockey League (IHL) during their 1988 playoff run before serving as an Assistant Coach with the New Haven Nighthawks (AHL) in 1988-89.
Tortorella also served as an assistant coach for the silver medal-winning Team USA at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada. He also served as head coach for Team USA at the 2008 World Championship, and was an assistant coach at the 2005 World Championship.
Albany 2006 Camden 2006 E. Rutherford 2, 2006 Inglewood 2006,
Chicago 2007
Camden 2008 MSG 2008 MSG 2008 Hartford 2008.
Seattle 2009 Seattle 2009 Philadelphia 2009,Philadelphia 2009 Philadelphia 2009
Hartford 2010 MSG 2010 MSG 2010
Toronto 2011,Toronto 2011
Wrigley Field 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Brooklyn 2013 Philadelphia 2, 2013
Philadelphia 1, 2016 Philadelphia 2 2016 New York 2016 New York 2016 Fenway 1, 2016
Fenway 2, 2018
MSG 2022
St. Paul, 1, St. Paul 2 2023
MSG 2024, MSG 2024
Philadelphia 2024
"I play good, hard-nosed basketball.
Things happen in the game. Nothing you
can do. I don't go and say,
"I'm gonna beat this guy up."
relieved, dismissed,whatever,...
i'm not really surprised by this.
SATHER press conference at 2;15pm eastern time
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES
http://www.UNOS.org
Donate Organs and Save a Life
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES
http://www.UNOS.org
Donate Organs and Save a Life
How about #11 ?
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES
http://www.UNOS.org
Donate Organs and Save a Life
Slats should be right behind him
Get a D and some scoring forwards in the playoffs - Henrik stays - guaranteed
Liked Torts - but he got old, his message tired and he weared thin on most of the guys.
Who steps up, coaches this club and gets this team advanced???
Shall be intesting...
Torts won't be out of work long..a team like Vancouver will gobble him up
7.9.03~9.28.04~10.1.05~5.12.06~5.13.06~5.27.06~5.28.06
8.5.08(EV)~10.9.09~5.21.10~6.20.11(EV)~7.5.11(EV)~7.9.11(EV)
11.21.13~8.27.16(EV)~11.14.16(TOTD)~4.13.20~9.27.20~9.26.21~10.2.21
2.15.22 (EV)~2.25.22 (EV)~2.27.22 (EV)~5.3.22~5.7.22~9.17.24~9.29.24
7.9.03~9.28.04~10.1.05~5.12.06~5.13.06~5.27.06~5.28.06
8.5.08(EV)~10.9.09~5.21.10~6.20.11(EV)~7.5.11(EV)~7.9.11(EV)
11.21.13~8.27.16(EV)~11.14.16(TOTD)~4.13.20~9.27.20~9.26.21~10.2.21
2.15.22 (EV)~2.25.22 (EV)~2.27.22 (EV)~5.3.22~5.7.22~9.17.24~9.29.24
hank speaks up and he gets fired? :think:
i love messier, but i don't know why everyone thinks he will make a fantastic coach with no coaching experience. have him spend a couple seasons with the wolf pack to mold him behind the bench before he jumps behind the bench at the garden.
this team kills me
I would take that trade 5 out of 5 times.
All that I once held as true
I stand alone without beliefs
The only truth I know is you.
All that I once held as true
I stand alone without beliefs
The only truth I know is you.
brassard will be a stud, haven't seen dorsett yet, and moore has been okay.
80 goal combination between nash and gaborik in a full season isn't too shabby under an offensive coaching style rather than tort's break a limb to block a shot mentality. brassard has quickly become a fan favorite, and if the rangers had an eye on him, they could have make other moves to get him. dorsett? concusion problems? wouldn't look into that as a real long term investment.
want to score goals? you keep goal scores around. tortorella would rather have lundqvist post a shut out every game and hope the other team knocks the puck in their own net.
questionable.
wonder what kind of article larry brooks is typing up right now.
I dont know about Brooksy,
but BRETT CYRGALIS writes :
" players tired of his overbearing personality ..."
http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/rangers/ ... 6ujifN1MWI
The dirty laundry was not about to be publicly aired Wednesday afternoon when Rangers general manager Glen Sather announced the firing of coach John Tortorella.
“It wasn’t one thing, and I’m not going to speculate or start to criticize what happened with Torts and give you a lot of reasons why we decided to do this,” Sather said on a conference call. “After the analytical work we do every year at the end of season trying to decide how we’re going to improve the team and how we’re going to move forward, this is a decision we made, a decision that was consulted with some people so that everyone knew what was going to happen.”
Sather did say that Tortorella was shocked to hear the news, but that he took it like a gentleman. The decision is believed to be unrelated to the team’s 2012-13 regular-season record and second-round playoff elimination, but rather to the core belief by management that the club’s players had grown weary of Tortorella’s overbearing personality.
“Removing anybody from the coaching role of the New York Rangers is a difficult decision,” Sather said, “but I think I made the right decision so that we can go forward in another direction.”
WATCH: THE POST'S FIVE FAVORITE TORTS MOMENTS
One year after making it to the conference finals, the Rangers lost this season a round earlier, falling in five games to the Bruins in the Eastern Conference semifinals. There seemed to be conflicting sentiments about the season coming from Tortorella and from his locker room, specifically franchise goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.
During Monday’s break-up day, Lundqvist called the season “a step back.” Minutes later, Tortorella vehemently disagreed, calling it instead, “a sideways step.”
“What Henirk was talking about was last year we got into the conference finals, this year we didn’t make that,” Sather said. “I think that’s what he was referring to. As far as I’m concerned, if you’re not in the Stanley Cup [finals] and you’re not there winning it, your season has not been a success. The ultimate goal is to win the Stanley Cup here, so anytime that we don’t get there, I don’t think we’ve achieved our goal.”
Lundqvist is going to be a free agent after this coming season, and it seems as if the team doesn’t wrap him up with a long-term deal before training camp starts, then he might have one foot out the door. To say that Sather had to choose between Lundqvist and Tortorella is nothing more than wild speculation, yet the GM said his plan is for the reigning Vezina Trophy winner to stay in New York for good.
“We plan on signing Henrik to a long-term contract,” Sather said. “I’m not going to make any public comments on the negotiations, how and when they’re going to take place. But it had nothing to do with this. This was a decision that I made.”
A decision that Sather also said he had a hand in was scratching former Conn Smythe winner Brad Richards for the final two games of the Bruins series. Richards, 33, is due $6.67 million per year until 2019-20, and because of the precipitous decline in his game has become a prime candidate for the Rangers’ final amnesty buyout. Sather can use that either this summer or next to send Richards packing and wipe his cap hit off their books.
“That’s a decision we’re going to make later at our organizational meetings [in late June],” Sather said about Richards. “At this time, I’m not thinking about that. I’m trying to deal with this situation and move forward.”
As for moving forward, Sather continued to be evasive about the type of coach he would like to hire. Yet he did point out there are similarities between the teams still alive fighting for the Stanley Cup – the Penguins and Bruins in the East finals, and the Kings set to take on the winner of Wednesday night’s Game 7 between the Blackhawks and Red Wings.
“If you look at the teams that are going to be contending for the Stanley Cup, there are specific ingredients that every team has and some teams don’t have,” Sather said. “I’d like to take the best of what those teams have and integrate them into our team.”
The most logical choices out there for possible replacements start with Lindy Ruff, the longtime coach of the Sabres who was fired early in the year. After him comes former Canucks headman Alain Vigneault, and then possibly Dave Tippett, whose contract with the Coyotes expires on June 30.
“There are a lot of factors when you go looking for someone to develop and help your team get us to your ultimate goal,” Sather said. “And as you know it’s not an easy thing to achieve, but we have to keep striving to get there.”
The striving continues, but now it goes on without Tortorella.
<!-- e --><a href="mailto:bcyrgalis@nypost.com">bcyrgalis@nypost.com</a><!-- e -->
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES
http://www.UNOS.org
Donate Organs and Save a Life
Brooks column today the day after
There was widespread discord amongst the entire roster.
Gotta love Gabbys tweet from Columbus.
Players made it clear to Sather coach’s act was wearing thin
By LARRY BROOKS
Last Updated: 7:45 AM, May 30, 2013
Glen Sather said yesterday the decision to fire John Tortorella was his. The reality is the players made the decision for the club president and general manager.
The Rangers players had had enough of the coach and they said so during their exit meetings on Monday. Sources have confirmed Sather had no intention of dismissing Tortorella in the wake of the team’s second-round elimination by the Bruins until a critical mass of players informed the GM that the coach’s overbearing personality had become a roadblock to success.
When Henrik Lundqvist told the press Monday he would need time to think about committing his future to the Rangers, that was the tip of the iceberg. The franchise goaltender did not sing an executioner’s song, but we’ve learned that he was troubled enough by what had become a deteriorating dynamic between the coach and his teammates that he believed it was necessary to give voice to it.
We’re told that though there were no ultimatums issued by the players, the overwhelming sentiment was that Tortorella had become the problem rather than the solution for the Rangers, who are now going on 20 years and 19 seasons since their last Stanley Cup in 1994.
In the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s Game 5 defeat in Boston, Tortorella blamed himself for being unable to get the best out of the Rangers’ top players. On Monday, at what turned out to be his own exit interview with the media, he blamed himself for not being able to get the team properly prepared for the second-round series.
Sather refused to indict Tortorella for anything during yesterday’s conference call with the press. He refused to identify a reason for the move, acknowledging that he was being “vague.” Clearly, he did not want to leave the impression his players had blood on their hands, or that the team faced the prospect of an in-season mutiny if camp opened in September with Tortorella still in place.
The GM, who confirmed that he will continue in that position, did talk about “a shelf life” for coaches. And while Sather was accurate in suggesting all coaches have a shelf life, for those with the unyielding, acerbic, critical approach of Tortorella, seasons of “sideways steps,” lead to steps out the door.
It is difficult to paint a broad brush over Tortorella’s regime. Marian Gaborik had two of his best seasons playing for him as well as his two worst before finally being forced out the door, a victim of barely disguised scapegoating. Chris Kreider couldn’t have met with a more skeptical coach, yet young players such as Derek Stepan and Ryan McDonagh blossomed quickly playing for him.
(Tortorella incredibly warned the press not to “interfere” with his relationship with Gaborik hours after No. 10 had been shipped to Columbus at the deadline. Yesterday afternoon, Gaborik posted, “Everything happens for a reason...” on his Twitter account.)
Tortorella would not modify his zealous safety-first, block-every-shot approach to fit his personnel. He demanded that every player, regardless of talent, adapt to him. The 2012-13 Rangers were not the 2011-12 Black-and-Blueshirts, yet he would not adjust his blueprint.
But it wasn’t the demanding on-ice style that finally grinded down the Rangers. It was, we’re told, the harshness with which he too often interacted with the athletes. The angry public face of Tortorella was too often the private face, as well.
In addition, Tortorella’s occasionally brutal public cut-downs of his players were doing no good for the organization. The Carl Hagelin “stinks” on the power play bit drew laughs from his audience, but we’re told that Tortorella’s outburst in Buffalo following the March 12, 3-1 defeat in which he said he was “disgusted” with his top players was not at all well received inside the room or across the industry.
The needle had moved forward under Tortorella, but progress was nil this year and threatened going forward. Players had become afraid of making mistakes; fearful of the reprisal at the coach’s command. His way or no way might not have been a road to exactly nowhere, but it was leading toward a dead end.
A fresh approach will be sought by Sather. The Blueshirts require an individual with a constructive, positive voice who will maximize the team’s talent. They need a face who will represent the franchise and the fan-base with pride. There is no doubt that Mark Messier embodies those attributes, though it is unclear whether No. 11’s absence of coaching experience would rule him out of serious consideration for the job.
Tortorella always said that what happened in the room would stay in the room. On Monday, it all made its way into the players’ exit meetings with Sather.
When the meetings had ended, when the extent of the players’ alienation from the coach had become clear, it wasn’t about steps back or steps sideways, it was about Tortorella being told to step down.
<!-- e --><a href="mailto:larry.brooks@nypost.com">larry.brooks@nypost.com</a><!-- e -->
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES
http://www.UNOS.org
Donate Organs and Save a Life
When does any blame get put on Sather?
definitely agree !
I think this was his 7th firing of a coach under his tenure.
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES
http://www.UNOS.org
Donate Organs and Save a Life
All the fucking time.
I've heard the "Fire Sather" chant at the Garden almost as many times as I've heard "Potvin Sucks."