Thursday, February 5, 2009

F-I-R-E is a 4 Letter Word

It is kind of funny to read a lot of the comments written by Ranger fans on the various blogs these days. After the 1-0 loss, the internet was full of "Fire Renney" postings but one thing stands out from these postings.

If you want to fire the coach then how come almost 90% of those wanting this termination do not offer a suggestion as to who should replace Renney? Yes that silence is deafening but here is the sad truth that even we hate to admit; there is no replacement out there that could turn this season around mainly because of Glen Sather

Do you actually think that Glen Sather would hire John Torterella? Peter Laviolette? Bob Hartley? See that is the problem and also the insurance policy that sadly buys Renney to the end of the season.

It is way too easy to fire Tom Renney because it solves nothing at all as the root cause of the problem remains and that is Glen Sather. As long as Sather gets to pick and choose who coaches the Rangers then do not expect a season saving turnaround.

We would kill for Jim Schoenfeld to step behind the bench because at the least we know Schoeny would stick his foot up the rear end of those Rangers who do not give 100%. However sadly Schoeny doesn't want to coach and would repeat his refusal of the Ranger's head coaching position.

That would leave either one of Renney's assistants Pelino or Pearn which would be no change or Sather himself would return behind the bench. We will stick with Tom Renney given those options.

Please also notice that we say that we want Renney replaced as the head coach but we do not want to end his relationship with the Rangers. Tom Renney has a ton to offer the Ranger franchise because he really is one of the smarter minds in hockey, Renney is one of the best organizers and planners in the game and the Rangers have a huge need for his thinking.

So in between the name calling and the childish fighting that too many Ranger "fans" take part in how about when demanding changes offer some legit solutions. The old days are back it seems as Ranger fans are back to fighting among each other.

Grow up please and realize that the wasted energy spent on flame wars/insults only distracts from the real problems facing the Rangers and actually helps them. If you really want to see change then you need to stop fighting with each other and direct your anger at the Ranger front office.

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Evgeny Grachev (2008 3rd) may have had a very quiet OHL All-Star game but had an impact on Thursday evening in his return to the Brampton Battalion lineup. Grachev set up linemate Matt Duchene for the game winner as the Battalion defeated the Kingston Frontenacs in overtime 4-3 for their 11th straight win.

Duchene got the goal but it was very much the Grachev play that won the game as Grachev faked a shot so well that the Frontenacs went for it and Grachev just slid the puck over to Duchene for a basically easy goal.

For us, it was exactly what we have been wanting to see out of Grachev down the stretch. The majority of Grachev's points have come in the first or second period this season and our experience with Grachev taught us that he is more than able to score clutch goals late in games.

Now we want to see more of this down the stretch.

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Tomas Kundratek (2008 3rd) and his Medicine Hat Tigers returned home from their western road trip and got themselves spanked 8-4 by the Calgary Hitmen. Kundratek had an assist for this 13th point of the season but that was it.

Kundratek actually set up what was the goal that tied the game 2-2 in the first period but from the second period on, the Hitmen showed why they are one of the best in the WHL by scoring 5 goals in the second period.

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Antoine Lafleur (2007 2nd) and his Rouyn-Noranda Huskies got royally whipped by the Moncton Wildcats 6-1. Lafleur gave up all 6 goals but he can blame the lack of support for several of the goals that were given up.

3 of the Wildcat goals were scored on the power play and the Wildcats were credited with 18 dangerous shots out of the 29 they took. On the average most teams only must 6-9 dangerous shots in a game.

However at the same time Lafleur now has to realize that if he wants to become a professional goalie then he needs to start stealing wins for the Huskies. If he does not then the Rangers have a decision to make in June regarding whether or not to sign him.


(Renney pic courtesy of the New York Rangers)



2 comments:

elroy said...

Renney has been exposed as "Defensive Coordinator" whose overall weakness was obscured that last few years by having Jagr, Straka, and Shanny bring offense despite the defensive efforts of both opponents and the Rangers. It often seems Renney would rather lose a game 2-1 than win 5-3.

joe said...

it's not so much the coach who's the problem here, it's the roster he's been given to work with

jagr covered up a lot of flaws in the way this team is built, but this franchise will be in trouble for the duration of the redden/drury/gomez contracts

giving superstar money to above average players who don't put up the points was a colossal blunder that's going to hamper them, especially since they all have no-trade clauses

what coach is going to come in and fix that problem?

this team will continue to live and die with king henrik