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Blue Jackets' Search to Include Former Rangers Coach David Quinn


Phil

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The Blue Jackets have kept their list of potential coaching options relatively quiet, but an interesting one came up last week during the reintroduction of John Davidson as president of hockey operations.

 

Asked about David Quinn, Davidson made it clear that his former head coach the past two seasons with the New York Rangers would be considered as the Jackets’ next bench boss.

 

“We’d be negligent if we didn’t include everybody out there who is a possible head coach,” said Davidson, who has rejoined the Blue Jackets after serving just two years of a five-year contract he’d signed in 2019 to be the Rangers’ team president. “Everybody’s on the list … David Quinn is a good person. He did a great job in New York. Certainly, he’ll be on the list with a lot of others.

 

Davidson is already in Columbus, reclaiming the post he held for seven years prior to leaving in 2019, and Quinn might be what the Jackets are looking for. He takes a direct approach with his teams, letting players know where they stand, but also works hard to build interpersonal relationships, which wasn’t high on former coach John Tortorella’s priority list.

 

It’s a style that appears to meet the qualities Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said he's hoping to find in the coaching search, which began prior to Davidson’s return. Quinn’s extensive experience and success as a college coach combined with his three years of NHL experience in New York might also make him an attractive option for the Jackets, who are going through their own retooling process.

 

Kekalainen calls it a “reload” rather than a rebuild, despite the Blue Jackets finishing with the fourth-worst record in the league. But Davidson acknowledged it might not be a one-year fix. While agreeing that “reload” is an apt terminology, he added that, “Nothing’s quick in this game,” and mirrored that sentiment Monday during a radio interview on WBNS-FM.

 

“I don’t think you can bring in a coach who’s never coached (in the NHL) before, but there’s a number of very qualified names out there,” Davidson told the Rothman and Ice afternoon show. “Now, is it going to (be) some coach to come here (who’s) already been a coach for umpteen years and wants to come in and win a Cup today? That’s not going to fit for us. We want a guy that’s going to want to come in here, understand that we have to grow and get better, and win a Cup. So, we’ll work our way through it.”

 

After leading the Rangers' rebuild from ice level, Quinn checks those boxes.

 

https://www.dispatch.com/story/sports/nhl/columbus-blue-jackets/2021/05/25/blue-jackets-coaching-search-include-david-quinn/7426868002/

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This is likely hot air from a guy who's too nice to ever say anything bad about anyone in public. What else is he gonna say when asked directly about Quinn?

 

That said, how funny would it be if they hired Quinn and Rangers hired Torts?

Almost as funny as when we traded Torts for AV? LOL
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This is likely hot air from a guy who's too nice to ever say anything bad about anyone in public. What else is he gonna say when asked directly about Quinn?

 

That said, how funny would it be if they hired Quinn and Rangers hired Torts?

 

Yeah that's the impression I got too. Some reporter just asked JD about Quinn given their recent working relationship and this would just be a courtesy. Doubt he actually gets shortlisted though.

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