From TSN:
The struggling New York Rangers have fired head coach Tom Renney with 21 games left in the NHL season.
The last straw came after the Rangers’ 3-2 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday, which handed New York its tenth loss in 12 games (2-7-3).
The Rangers are currently in a tie for fifth place in the Eastern Conference, but they sit only two points ahead of ninth-place Carolina in a tight playoff race.
Well, this is anything but a surprise out of NY. The rumors have been rampant for a few weeks now, which obviously coincided with the Rangers’ slump, that Renney was on borrowed time. In reality, the Rangers had an inflated record to start the season and looking more closely at the stats would have indicated to most that the Rangers were primed to comeback to earth. Now, I realize they are just barely in a playoff spot, but they are in a playoff spot nonetheless.
To me, this firing is unwarranted. This team was face-lifted over the off-season, as personalities like Jagr, Avery, Tyutin and Shanahan were cast aside and replaced with the likes of Zherdev, Redden and Naslund. So, not only did the locker room dynamic change but the team also lost skill up front and defensive presence on the blue line. With the aformentioned moves, more offensive pressure has fallen to Chris Drury and Scott Gomez and both have not had very productive offensive seasons.
What’s more, Renney was the coach who turned this team around a few years back. Prior to his arrival behind the bench, this team had been out of the playoffs since 1997 and looked aimless. His insertion behind the bench brought about stability, a defensive conscience and a sense of respect.
Maybe the team had stopped playing hard for Renney, but it says here that he didn’t have the horses for much more success than his team provided for its fans.
