New York Rangers: End of the line for Alain Vigneault?

Have the New York Rangers and head coach Alain Vigneault reached the point of no return?

The New York Rangers made a ton of offseason changes to try to optimize their roster. They got younger in a variety of areas. However, after a 2-6-2 start to their season, time is running out for the Rangers to right their ship.

Typically, teams have two options in this scenario. They can change the roster or overhaul the coaching staff. The Rangers have already tried the first option, so perhaps they need to part ways with head coach Alain Vigneault.

Despite making the postseason in each of his seasons as the head coach on Broadway, one can’t help but feel the Rangers have underachieved in the playoffs over the past two seasons. Since making it to the Stanley Cup Finals and Eastern Conference Finals respectively in Vigneault’s first two seasons, all New York has to show is a first-round exit and a second-round exit.

Favoring Veterans

At some point, underachieving falls on the coach. Especially if his decisions are playing a sizable role in said underachieving. In his first four years, Vigneault overplayed Dan Girardi and Marc Staal. Even when it was obvious the former was no longer the stalwart defenseman he used to be, he still got first pairing minutes alongside captain Ryan McDonagh.

Filip Chytil was the second of the Rangers two first-round picks this year. He impressed enough in training camp to earn a spot on the Opening Night Roster. However, Vigneault put him on the fourth line. That’s not a place for a teenage center to develop and grow. In those two games, Chytil averaged just over six minutes per game. That’s inexcusable, especially when a veteran grinder like Paul Carey has gotten five games and over 50 percent more playing time per game.

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Even Adam Cracknell, who is a depth forward at best, got a longer leash than Chytil. This sums up Vigneault’s biggest flaw as a head coach. He favors veterans at the expense of young players. Pavel Buchnevich is another example. On the blue line, Anthony DeAngelo, a prospect the Rangers got for Derek Stepan, has been trusted less than Steven Kampfer.

In fact, the only young players who Vigneault seems to trust are Mika Zibanejad, Jimmy Vesey, and Brady Skjei. The former is literally the Rangers only option on the first line. Meanwhile, the second has probably not done enough to earn the trust of Vigneault, especially when you look at how he’s treated guys like Buchnevich and Chytil.

And Skjei probably falls in the same category as Zibanejad, as Vigneault pretty much HAS to play him. If Girardi was still around, it’s safe to say Skjei wouldn’t be averaging over 17 minutes a game.

Front Office Disconnection

What has perhaps been the most damning thing about Vigneault has been his disconnect with the front office. Specifically, general manager Jeff Gorton doesn’t seem to get along well with his coach. However, these issues have been going on since Vigneault came to Broadway. In 2014-15, the Rangers needed an extra boost on their blue line. They traded for Arizona Coyotes defenseman Keith Yandle.

Vigneault proceeded to play the top trade deadline acquisition for under 20 minutes per game in the regular season and postseason. Imagine you’re a parent. Your kid begs you for an XBox One or whatever gaming system they fancy. You decide to surprise them with it as a Christmas gift. And then your kid doesn’t play it. That’s how the Rangers must have felt after trading for Yandle.

The DeAngelo saga is the latest chapter. He’s getting less playing time per game than Kampfer, who for all intents and purposes, is a depth defenseman. Even when Vigneault has gone with seven defensemen, DeAngelo has often found himself fighting for playing time. Kampfer has only played in two games but averaged over 17 minutes a game in both of them (17:16 average). DeAngelo has topped this once in eight games. And in two games (a loss to the Canadiens and a win against the Predators), he took a combined 11 shifts and played a total of 9:05.

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It’s not too late for the Rangers to save their season by firing Vigneault. It’s not that he isn’t a good coach. But he clearly isn’t the right one for the Rangers. New York needs more change. But the best move the Rangers can make is one behind the bench.

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