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Crummy choice Blueshirts should've known better than to hire an IslanderPosted: Thursday January 30, 2003 1:01 AMUpdated: Thursday January 30, 2003 2:41 AM
You just knew it wouldn't work out, an Islanders legend leading the boys of Broadway. Long Island legend Bryan Trottier didn't stand a chance in midtown Manhattan from the start. Denis Potvin always will suck at Madison Square Garden, but Trottier's name likely will be cursed there for years to come, too. "I just think that at this time, and under these conditions with this group of players, that maybe it wasn't the right fit," Rangers general manager Glen Sather said. What on Earth made Sather think a first-time NHL head coach who used to play for his team's biggest rival was a good idea in the first place? After serving four years as an apprentice to Bob Hartley in Colorado, Trots finally got a shot at a head coaching job in June. Too bad for him it was with the overpaid, underachieving Rangers. And 54 games later, his coaching career is toast. Trottier sits 12th on the all-time scoring list and sixth on the playoff scoring list. He won six Stanley Cups with the Islanders and Penguins, and is regarded by many who played with him as the ultimate teammate. But it would appear that the ultimate teammate couldn't have an effect on the ultimate "me-first" locker room. Sather surprisingly admitted he had made a mistake by hiring Trottier in the first place. With Ken Hitchcock and Ron Wilson and others available last summer, Sather hired Trottier despite the fact that his lone year of head coaching experience was in 1997-98 with Portland in the AHL. "It's easy to go back and say that decision wasn't right today, but when I made it I thought I made the right choice," Sather said. "I analyzed a lot of coaching candidates and I thought that I came out with a guy who was the best suited to be successful here, and obviously he wasn't." After winning five of six to fight back into playoff contention at 21-23-6-1, the Blueshirts lost three in a row by a combined margin of 16-5 to seal Trottier's fate. Two of the losses were to the Atlanta Thrashers, who are suddenly the NHL's coach killers. The Montreal Canadiens canned Michele Therrien on Jan. 17, the day after losing to Atlanta. On Tuesday in Atlanta, the Rangers fell behind 3-0 in the first period and trailed 5-0 after two. Trottier wore the look of a beaten man who knew there was nothing else he could do to get through to his troops. Trottier couldn't bring the fire out of the Rangers players, but Sather should get the brunt of blame for his terrible free-agent signings. New York overpaid for Bobby Holik (five years, $45 million) and Darius Kasparaitis (six years, $26 million), despite the fact that they were outbidding themselves for Holik and Kasparaitis. Kasparaitis has been a reckless renegade who disregards positioning to fly across the ice in search of a bit hit. In the third period of Sunday's 7-2 loss to the Capitals, Kasparaitis let Robert Lang free along the right side after pinching to the boards for a double-team check. While high-priced Pavel Bure, Holik, Brian Leetch and Mike Richter all have missed significant time with injuries this season, Trottier had to turn to journeymen like Joel Bouchard, Cory Cross, Gordie Dwyer, Richard Lintner and John Tripp. It's a tough challenge to end a five-year playoff drought with AHL talent like that in your lineup every night. Even with all the high-priced offensive talent, defenseman Tom Poti leads the Rangers with 39 points. Eric Lindros has just 36 points and a plus-2 rating in 53 games, disappointing numbers for someone who will make close to $9 million this season. Rumors of Trottier's departure were floating around in late December. It was thought the team might make a coaching change on New Year's Eve if they had lost to the Hurricanes, but a 2-0 victory in Carolina temporarily saved his job. Maybe it would've been a more merciful fate if he hadn't stuck around to see 2003. Jon A. Dolezar covers the NHL for CNNSI.com. Got a comment, question or scoop for Jon? Click here. |
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