While the jury is still out on Mike Sullivan until the Rangers reach a minimum of 40 games, it does not prevent coaching experts to chip in with their say about the Blueshirts boss.
With that in mind, when analyzing a coach's ability, The Maven prefers the voices of those who've made their livings behind a bench – and for a long time, to boot.
One such individual is Harvey (Hutch) Cohen who originally led the Brooklyn College hockey team and eventually coached Chatham (New Jersey) Township hockey teams from 1973 to 1989 when it merged with Chatham High School for a total of 39 years coaching.
Like myself, Hutch agrees that more time is needed to get a better line on Sullivan but Cohen has some arresting thoughts for now.
"Sullivan made a bad decision picking J.T. Miller as his captain," Hutch insists. "It should have been Vincent Trocheck."
Hutch sees an improvement on defense from the Peter Laviolette era – with or without Adam Fox in the lineup. Formerly offense only forwards are learning how to backcheck.
"Artemi Panarin is thinking more defensively than last year," Hutch notes, "and Mika Zabanejad is as well. All things considered, the defensive coverage is one hundred percent better.'
Without the injured Fox, the Rangers have suffered on the power play. Sully's insistence on using five forwards so far has been a disaster.
The Blueshirts Are On The Move With Homecoming Next
The <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers">Rangers</a> hear a song coming on and it's called, "We Did It Before And We Can Do It Again."
Hutch: "Right now the club is not as good on odd man rushes as I would hope, both offensively and defensively."
With the Rangers now well above the .500 mark there are no clamors for Sullivan to be canned and as Hutch reminds us; the coach needs more time before we can make a definitive judgement on his tenure.
Conclusion re Sullivan: So far, not too bad! (And that's good!)