Some interesting news and notes in the papers and media blogs today, as John Tortorella ran his first practice. Mike Pelino, who was not given a pink slip, has however been relegated to the video room by Tortorella. The new coach told Pelino he wanted a new start and asked him to help Jerry Dineen with the video work.
Tortorella has taken on the responsibility of running the offense and power play, and has asked Jim Schoenfeld to work on the PK and defense. Benoit Allaire stays on to coach Lundqvist. The issue that apparently needed to be worked out with Tampa may very well have been whether or not Mike Sullivan could join the Rangers as an assistant.
The former Rangers draft pick was an assistant under Tortorella in Tampa, and was supposedly given a clause that he could join his former head coach if he got a new job. Look for that happen to next year, with the likelihood also that another assistant will be added to replace Pelino.
In other stories, there are plenty of commentators coming out of the woodwork to praise Tom Renney and point a finger at Glen Sather, whom many feel is the real reason for the Rangers’ failure late in the season. Sather appears to be of the belief that a change of philosophy is the best shot for the Blueshirts to turn the season around…and frankly, it may have been his only choice given the length of contracts that the team has on their books.
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