Analyzing David Quinn’s First Two Months as Rangers Head Coach

The New York Rangers Hockey Club are in the middle of a re-building season, and some fans have been feeling a bit frustrated with how things have played out for their team since the start of the 2018-19 campaign. They would go from a three-game winning streak to losing six out of seven. Many are wondering why it’s like that, and some are even pointing the finger at David Quinn, the new coach.

Quinn, who was hired this offseason following the firing of five-year head coach Alain Vigneault, knew he had a lot to deal with when the club named him their new main man behind the bench. You also have to remember that Quinn previously coached at Boston University, with very little to no experience at the NHL level, so the type of players he is coaching now are more advanced than what he is used to seeing and working with.

David Quinn, no doubt, has exceptional knowledge in the game of hockey. Rangers defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk played under Quinn in his BU days, so he knows what the 52-year-old coach expects. Shattenkirk even said he was stunned when he learned that Quinn was one of the frontrunners for the coaching job.

As far as the Rangers season is concerned, the boys in Blueshirts are currently sitting at a 15-14-6 record, fifth in the Metropolitan division. Some fans say that they are frustrated with the team because they still have key players like Chris Kreider and Mats Zuccarello leading the way along with future Hall of Fame goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, while others blame Quinn for not pushing his team hard enough and his inability to argue some potential missed calls is what causes the team to eventually lose.

Whatever the cause for the Rangers struggles so far this season may be, it certainly is unfair to blame Quinn. It is an extremely tough job to coach such elite players at an NHL level, and Quinn is just a rookie among them. It takes time to adjust, and with this being a re-building year for the New York Rangers, David Quinn is doing just fine.