The Maven's urging the Rangers to immediately hire John Tortorella did not win immediate approval from my studious audience.
Nor will I hide the dissent from you.
"Torts is the Rex Ryan of the NHL," says avid fan and critic Steve Viuker of Brooklyn. "He may be great for an NHL Network TV gig but – as a coach – he wears thin on a team in a short period of time."
Viuker singles out a couple of reasons why Torts got canned in the NHL's homestretch.
"In his last eleven games, the Flyers won one and lost ten. Plus, they didn't have a power play goal for all of March. Torts is the baseball version of Billy Martin of the George Steinbrenner years."
By contrast, Harvey Cohen of New Jersey fires this broadside at Viuker.
"The Rangers need Torts because they need a jolt right now. They are a direct reflection of their coach," Cohen explains. "They make no in-game adjustments. Laviolette is too passive, stagnant, predictable and statuesque."
Others point to GM Chris Drury as the prime culprit for allowing a soft offensive core to remain intact while paying no attention to team defense. "Kris Knoblauch would have suffered the same result as Lavy because he would be coaching the same soft core."
A sizeable number of fans would love to see John Davidson return – this time as general manager – "because he knows the qualities that a good coach would have to have to coach in New York."
Hey! Let's not kid ourselves; the bottom line is simply that any decision will be made – or not made at all – by MSG majordomo Jim Dolan.
Until we hear differently from him, Peter Laviolette still has a job. Whether The Maven likes it or not!
