Rangers not too broken up about firing
HOWARD SIMMONS/NEWS THERE were some compliments about Alain Vigneault and mild disappointment expressed by a few Ranger players Tuesday about his firing after they went through their exit interviews, but there weren’t exactly any tears being shed regarding the coach’s departure. Given how things had gone for the last two months, it’s almost as if they were resigned to such a decision.
“It’s disappointing, obviously. But you understand we didn’t get the job done, and when that happens, change is gonna happen. We have players leaving, now coaches leave,” Henrik Lundqvist said. “We hoped and expected more at the start of the season, then things happened throughout the way. Having five important pieces hurt for a little bit there I think hurt us a lot. We just weren’t able to recover.”
It was Lundqvist whom Vigneault pointed the finger at on Feb. 9 regarding the team’s inconsistency, despite the fact that Lundqvist had so often masked the team’s defensive deficiencies and kept the Rangers afloat throughout November and December.
The responses from others regarding Vigneault were tepid at best.
Chris Kreider initially said it wasn’t his job to comment. “Show up, play and work hard.” He then expressed some gratitude. “I’ve only got good things to say about our coaching staff. I had them for such a long time. Really close with the coaches, especially the associate head coach, and kind of grew up with that group. I owe them a ton, personally. Felt like I really grew as a player, a person.”
Mika Zibanejad added, “You don’t want to see guys leave. But things happen. It’s unfortunate that that’s I guess a testament that we didn’t do as good as we wanted to this year. Those things happen.”
The most emotion in terms of pure language came from Mats Zuccarello. “It’s sad, for sure. But it’s like the players, you trade players, it’s a business. There’s nothing you can do about it. It’s a part of it. I’ve been here with them for five years. It’s really sad to see stuff like that happen. There’s nothing you can control.”
What they were able to control was their performance, and the players certainly must shoulder their share of blame for what transpired this season. The uncertainty of the weeks between the team’s sell-off announcement and the deadline created uneasiness, and once everyone knew a playoff berth was a long shot, learning became a priority.
“If I compare the last two months with the runs we had with strong teams, it was a different mentality,” Lundqvist said. “It was not so much about improving. It was about winning, it was about winning every night. But we had a different team and it was a different situation. That’s why it was just a different atmosphere.”
It will be different again next season with a new-look roster and a new coach, not quite an unwelcome sight.
HURTING HANK: Lundqvist revealed he’d dealt with a knee injury most of the season, the same knee he injured during last year’s World Championships. He’ll undergo an MRI and is uncertain about playing in next month’s Worlds.
“Started the season and it was fine, I felt really good. Then I got bumped into early on, maybe late-October or November,” Lundqvist said. “After that it’s been there. It’s something I had to deal with. It’s not affecting my play but it’s something that when you have to every day look after it, it’s not ideal.”
Zuccarello also said he played through a knee issue that will require three-to-four weeks of rest.