Tom Renney Relieved of Coaching Duties

[drwdan19]

New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that head coach Tom Renney has been relieved of his coaching duties. Assistant coach Perry Pearn was also relieved of his duties. Mike Pelino and Benoit Allaire will remain on the coaching staff.

Renney, 53, posted a record of 31-23-7 in 61 games behind the New York bench this season. In his tenure as head coach, he led the Rangers to a 164-121-42 record. Renney ranks fourth all-time among Rangers’ coaches in wins (164) and games coached (327).

Renney was originally named to the coaching staff as an assistant coach on July 21, 2003. He was appointed interim head coach on February 25, 2004 after beginning the 2003-04 season as assistant coach, guiding the team for the final 20 games of the campaign. Renney was named head coach on July 6, 2004.

In his first full season as head coach, in 2005-06, he was named a finalist for the Jack Adams award following a 44-26-12 record and a sixth place finish in the Eastern Conference. In 2006-07, Renney led the team to a 42-30-10 record, placing sixth in the Eastern Conference.

New York defeated the Atlanta Thrashers in the 2007 Conference Quarterfinals (4-0), registering the team’s first playoff series victory since 1997 (Conference Semifinals against New Jersey) and first sweep since 1994 (Conference Quarterfinals against New York Islanders). In 2007-08, he guided the team to a record of 42-27-13 for fifth place in the Eastern Conference and led the team to a first round series victory over the New Jersey Devils in the Conference Quarterfinals (4-1).

Renney joined the staff of the Rangers in 2000-2001 and served as the team’s Director of Player Personnel for two seasons, where he oversaw all facets of the team’s amateur scouting operations, while also assisting with the professional scouting department. He was promoted to Vice President, Player Development on June 21, 2002, where he oversaw all facets of the team’s amateur scouting operations, while also assisting with the professional scouting process and player development within the organization.

Renney joined Hockey Canada in 1993, where as head coach of Team Canada, he captured the silver medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. During his tenure there, he coached 10 world championship competitions, capturing three gold medals, three silver medals and two bronze medals.

Renney served as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks from June, 1996 through November, 1997. He began his coaching career with the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League (WHL) where he led the team to consecutive WHL titles, along with a Memorial Cup championship as the Canadian Hockey League’s top team.

[FightingIsGood]

Well, I guess it was just a matter of time.

[Janssen25]

So Sather makes a boatload of garbage signings, the team fails and he fires the Coach to take the blame of himself.

Sather sucks.

[Fireball_IV]

The writing was on the wall, we all knew that if they lost last night he would be gone...you could see it the entire night, he knew it as well...

[killmachine]

Saw this one coming a mile away...... the way teams go through coaches these days....no suprise

[drwdan19]

John Tortorella is rumored to step in. Should be interesting.

[Word]

Originally Posted by Janssen25

So Sather makes a boatload of garbage signings, the team fails and he fires the Coach to take the blame of himself.

Sather sucks.

I have to agree.

Sather needs to go. Stupid signings year after year, way too many overpaid players, etc.

Time to get a new GM...bring in some new blood and let Sather retire.

[J_Shelley45]

How many more coaches have to be fired to cover for crappy GMs this year? Renney isn't the problem and I think we all know that. Slats needs to retire.

[atslopes]

Renney must be pissed he has a right to be mad at half the team

1.Wheres the offense from Scott Gomez, Chris Drury, Naslund, redden, kalinin.

2. what happened to offense from young players like dubinsky, callahan, voros?

3. They started off too raw, they won too many games too early, I think beating tampa bay early in the year really got to their heads.

4. Truth be told with pittsburgh, carolina gunning for that 8th spot, i wouldnt be suprised if they end up 1oth in the conference.

5. Bring back avery

[pesadillamal]

Originally Posted by Janssen25

So Sather makes a boatload of garbage signings, the team fails and he fires the Coach to take the blame of himself.

Sather sucks.

Brilliant post! The scapegoat has been slaughtered and now what? I guess the shXt defensemen he signed will all of the sudden protect their crease? I doubt it.

Sather sucks!

Thank you for your time Renney. All the bad things I said about you in the past will now come back to bite me in the ass. It was clear you wanted the team to play a more aggressive game, as evident by you trying to get Voros and Reitz into the games and such, but you were never given the correct pieces. You can't motivate shXt Tom, it always ends up at the bottom.

[Philly Fan 27]

i hope they bring avery back as a player/coach

[Corpse]

Well if Torts is the guy to tak over I highly doubt we'll see avery in a Rangers uniform again. Torts was one of the most critical guys of Avery over his soap opera this season.

[puffed up]

Does this mean the Leafs are coach killers??

[nyislesfan45]

This is all Sather, the guy made a bunch of terrible decisions and it cost Renney his job. I feel like Shanny would have made a big difference just from a motivational standpoint, theres no vet on the team like that. Drury is as close as it gets but he doesn't lead by example quite like Shanny would.

[canuckfan]

Originally Posted by puffed up

Does this mean the Leafs are coach killers??

I was just thinking about that - Toronto's set the bar for NHL coaches everywhere - you lose to the Leafs, your jobs in jeopardy.

I think Renney is a good coach and I'm sure he'll get another opportunity elsewhere - but this team was going in the wrong direction fast and the change was needed. But yeah, I agree with what some others have said - he's taken the fall for some bad management decisions, thats for sure.

It'll be interesting to see what a different coach can do with this team, and what will happen with the Avery situation - we'll we see him in the lineup any sooner now, or will the new Rags coach want nothing to do with him?