It’s either the case of a coach trying to fire up his players... or a coach that’s tired of his players.
That’s the big debate in New York right now with Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault. The former Canucks bench boss has been remarkably (and frequently) candid in voicing his displeasure with his team this year, as the Rangers sit 15-15-1 and on the edge of the playoff picture.
Consider what Vigneault’s said already, all of this coming within the first 31 games of the season:
“You only get so many kicks at the can here, you only get so many teams. Obviously a guy like Ben, a high pick, a high skill level, you see it now and then and you go, ‘Wow, why does the inconsistency or whatever is, not there on a more regular basis?”
“I’ve been told his strengths are his ability to beat the forecheck, join the rush, help out on the power play and get shots through. I have not seen that on a consistent enough basis for him to be able to say he’s going to be in the lineup every night.”
On the Rangers’ defense in general:
“The only one on D, in my opinion, that has really not only has played up to expectations but you see a lot of upswings with is [Ryan] McDonagh. All of the other guys, I think, have better to give. We’re going to need them to give better.”
On the inability to score goals:
“We’re getting quality chances, but there’s a segment that tells us we’re not scoring a lot. Maybe we have to play even tighter to the vest than we are and go into games with that mentality of 2-1.”
On Sunday’s players-only meeting:
“You can talk all you want behind closed doors. It’s on the 200-by-85 [rink] that things are decided. Without a doubt, our compete level is a .500 compete level. When the other team scores a goal, we don’t seem to have much of a push.”
At this point, it’s fair to suggest Vigneault isn’t enthralled with his current roster. There have been peripheral moves (waiving and recalling Arron Asham, shuffling J.T. Miller between Hartford and New York, trading Brandon Mashinter for Kyle Beach) and a variety of healthy scratches (Pouliot, Del Zotto, Taylor Pyatt) but those don’t appear to have sufficiently shaken things up.
So, what can be done?
It’s obvious Vigneault wants more “compete” and wouldn’t mind a fresh look on defense, but making moves will be tough. New York is in a unique spot given its financial outlook for this year (less than $1 million away from the cap ceiling) is the polar opposite of next year, with just $39 million committed to nine players for 2014-15.
As for what Vigneault wants the Rangers to look like?
“I look at the Detroit Red Wings---who I know well, because I coached against them for the last seven years---they’ve had no toughness, per se, as far as that type of personality, at no point other than [Jordin] Tootoo the last couple of years, but those guys play hard,” Vigneault explained, as per Newsday. “They have the puck and they say “Try and get it from me” or if they don’t have it, they battle like hell to get it back. That’s the team toughness that I’m hoping we get here.
“Maybe we’ll get there by changing some personnel, adding a little more toughness, we’re at .500, I’m trying.”