The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Quinn says Rangers is ‘a natural fit’
NEW YORK — David Quinn had been contacted by other NHL teams in recent years, and chose to remain at Boston University. When the New York Rangers came calling, it was dif- ferent.
As talks with general manager Jeff Gorton and assistant GM Chris Drury — both of whom he’s known for many years — progressed, he knew it was time to make the move.
“It just seemed like a natural fit,” Quinn said Thursday when he was introduced as the Rangers’ coach at Madison Square Garden. “I’m 52 years old and at this point in my life, to be able to be the head coach of the New York Rangers was an opportunity I could not pass up.”
Quinn led the Terriers to four NCAA Tournament appearances in five seasons, including a trip to the national title game in 2015.
“This was a hard decision because of my love and passion for Boston University. It was an incredible opportunity for five years,” he said. “This is really the only situation I would have left Boston University for.”
Quinn spent the lockoutshortened 2013 NHL season as an assistant on Joe Sacco’s
staff with the Colorado Avalanche, and also coached in the American Hockey League.
Now, he becomes the 35th head coach in franchise history, replacing Alain Vigneault, who was fired April 7 just hours after the Rangers missed the playoffs for the first time since 2010.
Gorton said he considered five to 10 people for the vacancy, but ruled out veteran NHL coaches while looking for someone to relate to the team’s younger players as it goes through a rebuilding mode.
Quinn was high on his list from the beginning.
“We were looking for somebody with fresh ideas, a fresh approach,” Gorton said. “It just kept coming back to David as the guy we wanted and could see as we move forward with the Rangers and do what we have to do.
“The things that stick out for us were obviously his communication skills will be important as we move forward. His feel for the game, the way he wants to play has meshed well with what we want to do here.”
The new coach stressed practices will be hard with an eye toward improvement, and players should come in with that mindset.
“I like to think I’m fair and demanding,” Quinn said. “There’s no gray area with me with players. They want to get better, they want to be held accountable. This is not about me being the big, tough coach. It’s about me letting them know everything that we’re doing is to make them better players.”