New York Rangers podcast

Forever Blueshirts founder Anthony Scultore chimes in with another edition of Rangers Insights, where he discusses the playoff roster, Artemi Panarin, Brenden Lemieux and more!

Back when David Quinn was hired, he wanted to bring in Boston College associate coach, Greg Brown. The Rangers were able to get him to leave BC and join DQ’s staff.

Brown for the most part has been the “eye in the sky” assistant of this staff with David Oliver handling the forwards and Lindy Ruff the defense. Now it is time for Brown to come down permanently and take his rightful place next to Quinn.

Who is Greg Brown

Greg Brown had a brief NHL career of 94 games for the Sabres, Penguins, and Jets between 1990 and 1995. The defenseman started coaching at BC soon after retiring in 2004. He has been an assistant/associate coach for 14 years and focused on the defense and special teams.

Brown already had a solid reputation with players

Brown was very familiar with Chris Kreider and former Ranger, Kevin Hayes whom he helped coach during their entire BC careers. In addition, he coached both Ryan Lindgren and former Ranger, Brady Skjei for team USA. That certainly helped ease his transition.

Of course the biggest reason was the fact he was a teammate of David Quinn’s on the 1986 U.S. World Junior team. The cherry on top was having also played with Blueshirts Legends, Brian Leetch and Mike Richter during his playing career.

Brown works well with the young defenseman

Greg Brown has been doing video work with the young Rangers defensemen since he came on. The transition to take over for Ruff on the bench shouldn’t be too difficult after two seasons.

Being a younger coach, he can also bring some fresh ideas to the Rangers young blue-line. The bottom line is that the team does not need to look outside the organization for help when David Quinn’s guy is already here.

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All signs pointed to this being Ruff’s final season

Lindy Ruff is beloved and still considered the best head coach the Buffalo Sabres have had. So much so that the Rangers granted him permission to speak with the Sabres this past summer for their vacant coaching position. Although he didn’t get the job he told a Buffalo news station that “the fire still burns” and he wants to be a head coach again.

After this television interview I spoke with a team source to see if Ruff was leaving the organization. At the time it was relayed to me that Ruff was still with the team and would remain Quinn’s assistant for at least one more season.

Now it appears Ruff will indeed be getting that head coaching position he wanted for almost two years now.

Ruff the NJ Devils coach

We learned within the last few weeks that not only did Ruff interview for the NJ job, he is was very much in the running. That was with some stiff competition as both Peter Laviolette and Gerard Gallant are up for the coaching position.

I think Lindy Ruff has a legit shot at the New Jersey coaching job. I had heard that external GM candidates asked the Devils to allow them some input, but a few people told me Ruff is very much in this picture no matter what.

31 Thoughts

What remains to be see is how the Rangers and Ruff will handle this situation. My speculation is that they will let Ruff finish out the season alongside David Quinn. This does have the potential to be an awkward distraction as well.

Vitali Kravtsov’s potential impact for the Rangers during the upcoming training camp and Nils Lundkvist’s return to Sweden and what that means for Tony DeAngelo. Forever Blueshirts founder Anthony Scultore weighs in with another edition of “Rangers Insights” tackling all the big topics concerning the Rangers and NHL.

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David Quinn leans on Lindy Ruff and Chris Drury

”Obviously it’s nice to be part of this organization,” Quinn began. “A lot of people have been involved in a lot of playoff games in this organization.” He did cite two names specifically and one was his assistant coach.

”Obviously Lindy Ruff, who has coached in a lot of NHL playoff games and has a lot of success,” Quinn answered. Ruff did win coach of the year in the 2005-2006 season and has coached in 1493 regular season games winning 736 of them. As for Ruff’s playoff record, he was 66-54 including a heartbreaking Stanley Cup Final loss with the Buffalo Sabres against the Dallas Stars in 1998-1999.

Another name Quinn mentioned is assistant general manager Chris Drury who played his fair share of meaningful playoff games. His best run came as a 24 year-old in the 2000-2001season. En route to that Stanley Cup championship, Drury notched 11 goals and 16 points for the Colorado Avalanche in 23 games.

So when it comes to seeking any advice, Quinn has plenty of people to talk with. For him, it’s all about doing the same things they’ve been doing. The real key to success will be doing it “a little bit harder and a little bit faster”.

Lindy Ruff Wants to Coach Again

Lindy Ruff is beloved and still considered the best head coach the Buffalo Sabres have had. So much so that the Rangers granted him permission to speak with the Sabres this past summer for their vacant coaching position. Although he didn’t get the job he told a Buffalo news station that “the fire still burns” and he wants to be a head coach again.

After this television interview I spoke with a team source to see if Ruff was leaving the organization. At the time it was relayed to me that Ruff was still with the organization And would remain Quinn’s assistant for at least one more season.

Ruff a strong candidate for the NJ Devils job

Now we know that not only did Ruff interview for the NJ job, he is very much in the running. That’s with some stiff competition as both Peter Laviolette and Gerard Gallant are up for the coaching position.

I think Lindy Ruff has a legit shot at the New Jersey coaching job. I had heard that external GM candidates asked the Devils to allow them some input, but a few people told me Ruff is very much in this picture no matter what.

31 Thoughts

Knowing what has transpired over the last two summers, it is fair to say that this should be Lindy Ruff’s last season in New York.

Lindy Ruff in play for Devils coaching job

Lindy Ruff has spent the last several seasons as an assistant coach for the Rangers under Alain Vigneault and now David Quinn. This past summer, he interviewed for the vacant Buffalo Sabres job. Although he didn’t get it, he has expressed his desire to be a head coach again. That opportunity may be in NJ.

I think Lindy Ruff has a legit shot at the New Jersey coaching job. I had heard that external GM candidates asked the Devils to allow them some input, but a few people told me Ruff is very much in this picture no matter what.

31 Thoughts

Alexandar Georgiev on way back

Rangers goalie, Alexandar Georgiev shared a photo of himself packed and on his way back to NY.

Lindy Ruff Devils Coaching Candidate

Ruff, whose areas of specific responsibility are the defense and penalty kill, is in his third year with the Blueshirts. It is unclear whether the Devils would have permission to hire the 59-year-old coach before the Rangers either win the Stanley Cup or are eliminated in the planned summer tournament for which New Jersey did not qualify.

NYPOST

Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren in New York

Igor Shesterkin took part in on-ice workouts with fellow teammates yesterday at the MSG Training Center. Rangers defenseman, Ryan Lindgren is in NY and awaiting the results of his COVID-19 tests. He is expected to get on the ice as soon as today.

Libor Hajek Invited to Phase 3 Training Camp

In case you missed it, we reported yesterday that Rangers defenseman, Libor Hajek will be making his way back from Europe to join the team when training camps open on July 10th. The 22 year-old rearguard confirmed this with us via email earlier this week.

Kevin Lowe in the Hall of Fame

1994 Cup Champion Kevin Lowe is in the Hall of Fame. Congrats Kevin!

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New York Rangers Insights and NHL News

Forever Blueshirts founder Anthony Scultore goes deep in his Rangers Insight segment where he discusses Lindy Ruff, Kaapo Kakko, Phase 3 of the RTP plan, Lauri Pajuniemi and more.

Look for us on Spotify, Stitcher and Apple Podcasts!

NJ Devils Coaching Candidates

According to Elliotte Friedman, aside from the aforementioned Laviolette and Ruff there are several others in the mix. John Stevens, Gerard Gallant and Alain Nasreddine are all up for the job.

Lindy Ruff wants to be a head coach again

Lindy Ruff is beloved and still considered the best head coach the Sabres have had. Last June, Ruff spoke with a Buffalo news station and told them “the fire still burns” and he wants to be a head coach again.

This season we know that he received permission to interview for the Sabres coaching job. He ultimately didn’t get it and will look again once the Stanley Cup is awarded. The Rangers would need to grant permission for Ruff to speak with NJ but it is unlikely they would deny him. Also, if he were chosen the Devils wouldn’t make it the official announcement while the Rangers are playing.