Gorton vows ‘fresh’ approach
LUIZ C. RIBEIRO FOR THE DAILY NEWS
Jeff Gorton is looking for someone “fresh” in his search for the Rangers’ next head coach after firing Alain Vigneault, a decision the GM said he reached last week. He will consider candidates throughout various levels, only disqualifying those without any meaningful experience.
“I think fresh is a good word,” Gorton said Monday in Greenburgh less than 48 hours after Vigneault’s firing. “We’re looking for somebody who can help us get back to an identity we want to get back to. We’re looking to go through this process and hear some ideas from some people that have some thoughts on how, with the personnel we have and the makeup of our team moving froward, that they have some ideas that can help us move forward with a young group. So I’d say fresh is good word.”
Assistant coaches Scott Arniel and Darryl Williams were also fired, Gorton said, adding he had yet to meet with assistant and longtime NHL head coach Lindy Ruff regarding his status.
Specifics weren’t given regarding the reasons to pink-slip Vigneault after five seasons, and Gorton said around the trade deadline when he was selling veterans for prospects and picks that he still believed at that time that Vigneault would remain the coach. Vigneault’s peculiar postgame comments Saturday had no bearing on the decision, Gorton said.
One thing Gorton will look for, however, is a coach who takes a hand-on approach with the locker room, which wasn’t Vigneault’s style.
“I think AV had a certain way. After a certain amount of games coached in this league, he had a plan and it worked for him,” Gorton said. “I think that with the youth in our team and as we go forward, I think we’re gonna have a coach that’s gonna be hands-on, for sure.”
Gorton already has names on his list, is working on more and said some people have reached out to him regarding the Rangers’ coaching vacancy. Gorton and Co. will scour the NHL, AHL and college ranks but he doesn’t have a firm date by which he’d like to have a coach signed. It’s not a necessity, Gorton said, to have a coach in place by the NHL draft, which begins on June 22. He expects to interview between five-to-10 candidates and talk to more.
The GM didn’t name any players but said he was “disappointed” with how some of them finished the season during a time when learning for younger players become a chief priority. Henrik Lundqvist said Saturday next year needs to be about winning and returning to the playoffs, which Gorton agrees with.
“He’s gonna come back and prove to everybody that we can turn this thing around quickly and that he can be the guy to be the backbone for that,” Gorton said. “I understand what he’s saying and I hope everybody in our room understands we should be about winning.”
Hiring the right man to lead behind the bench can go a long way toward bouncing back.
“I just think that after five years, we think it’s time for a change,” Gorton said. “The players need a new voice and the organization needs a new coach as we go forward with our group.”