The New York Rangers have reportedly found their next head coach, though his hiring has not been made official as of yet.
Boston University head coach David Quinn alerted the school on Saturday that he plans to take the NHL team’s coaching job, as first reported by ESPN’s John Buccigross.
Multiple reports have indicated that Quinn’s deal with the Rangers will be worth $2.5 million per season over five years. However, the deal is not finalized as Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton is in Denmark for the 2018 IIHF World Championships until Monday.
The Rangers are currently the only team in the NHL with a head-coaching vacancy after the Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars and Carolina Hurricanes all found new men behind the bench before New York could. The new coach of the Stars, Jim Montgomery, was an early favorite for the Rangers job this spring but was snapped up by Dallas on May 4.
It’s taken the Rangers almost six weeks to find their new man after firing Alain Vigneault on Apr. 7, ending a five-year run that included four postseason appearances, two trips to the Eastern Conference Finals and an appearance in the Stanley Cup Final in 2014.
Gorton made it clear early on that his team would not be looking for veteran NHL head coaches, instead opting to search for “fresh” faces. It immediately eliminated the likes of assistant coach Lindy Ruff and former Rangers head coach John Tortorella, who were initially linked to the job.
The 51-year-old Quinn began his coaching career in 1993 and received his first head-coaching gig in 2009 with the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters. After one season as an assistant with the Colorado Avalanche in 2012-13, he was brought on as the head coach of Boston University, whom he was an associate coach with from 2004-2009.
In five years with the Terriers, Quinn amassed a 105-67-21 record while making three appearances in the NCAA Tournament’s regional final and a trip to the 2015 national championship game.
