Not only is Alain Vigneault, the new head coach of the New York Rangers, going to have a positive impact on the club’s offence and defence, but he’s also going to have a positive impact on the team’s star player, Henrik Lundqvist.
Under previous head coach John Tortorella, Lundqvist was under constant pressure. While Tortorella’s style may have been defence first, it was also one that sacrificed the team’s offence and, in turn, made for a lot of low-scoring games.
While Lundqvist is one of the best masked men in the game today, he’s not perfect. Tortorella’s style forced Lundqvist to be perfect night-in and night-out as it didn’t leave him much room for error.
This was especially the case in the Stanley Cup playoffs this year. A perfect example of this was the Rangers’ 2-1 loss to the Boston Bruins in Game 3 the second round. Lundqvist was just about perfect until he allowed two goals in the third period, which decided the hockey game.
With Vigneault behind the bench, this could all change for Lundqvist. For starters, it appears that Vigneault is all about offence.
In his introductory press conference last Friday at Radio City Musical Hall, Vigneault explained to the media that he wants his skilled forwards to be given the freedom to do what they do best.
"I believe that your top skill players have to be given a little bit more latitude," Vigneault said. "They have to understand the game. They have to understand the time in the game when you need to play maybe higher percentage, but they also have to be given that latitude to make something out of nothing. That’s why those guys have the high-end skill, and you’ve got to give them that leeway."
For Lundqvist, that means his team should be able to score more goals. Last season, the club was in the middle of the pack in goal scoring (15th in the league), but with a roster that includes the likes of Brad Richards, Rick Nash and Marian Gaborik, that simply wasn’t good enough.
As mentioned above, the Rangers offensive struggles were prominent in the post-season. New York averaged just 2.17 goals per game in this year’s playoffs, unable to help Lundqvist with any kind of regularity.
Secondly, with Vigneault’s offensive style, Lundqvist will have some breathing room. Under Vigneault’s offensive plan, Lundqvist shouldn’t feel the need to be perfect every single game and instead, be able to focus on what he does best, stop the puck.
Lastly, with a new voice behind the bench and a new style being implemented, it will allow Lundqvist to think about his long-term future on Broadway. When the season ended, Lundqvist was non-committal about his future with the Blueshirts. Understandably so given the way the club’s season ended.
This might all change as Vigneault’s style will not only help the Rangers up front and on defence, but it will help Lundqvist in a big way.
