Would Flyers be interested in another ex-Rangers coach? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Throughout May and possibly into June, we’ll look at potential candidates for the Flyers’ head coaching vacancy.
“We’re going to sit down and try to build that ideal candidate profile and really keep all options open, maybe look at it from a little broader perspective,” Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said May 3. “Clearly we have to sit down and really drill down in terms of what we’re looking for. I’m sure there will be a lot of quality candidates we’ll speak to.”
We’ve looked at Barry Trotz, Rick Tocchet, Paul Maurice, Jim Montgomery, John Tortorella, Peter DeBoer and Scott Sandelin. Next up in our series is David Quinn.
Why Quinn would be a fit
Making the jump out of Boston University, Quinn led the Rangers through a rebuild from 2018 to 2021. He took over New York after Alain Vigneault was fired following the 2017-18 season. After a year off, Vigneault became Fletcher’s first head coaching hire as GM of the Flyers going into the 2019-20 season.
The 55-year-old Quinn went 96-87-25 through three seasons with the Rangers. New York made the expanded 2020 playoff field but lost its qualifying-round series to the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference bubble.
The Rangers were focused on youth during his tenure, so Quinn became adept at coaching and developing his clubs through growing pains. Younger players made mistakes and played through them.
In Year 1 under Gerard Gallant this season, New York saw its rebuild fruit into a 110-point breakout and an ongoing playoff run. Some may argue Quinn’s fingerprints are on the Rangers’ success.
The Flyers find themselves in a similar spot as they’re aggressively retooling after a 25-46-11 bottoming out. With Quinn’s experience at the collegiate, international and AHL levels, and having coached a rebuild in a market like New York, he’s an intriguing candidate for the Flyers’ spot.
Quinn is also familiar with the Metropolitan Division and coached Kevin Hayes, one of the key members in the Flyers’ leadership group, for a part of 2018-19.
Why Quinn would not be a fit
Quinn’s track record pales by comparison to other candidates on the market. His lack of experience at the NHL level could understandably give the Flyers reservation to go this route.
Given that reason, Quinn would be a considerable risk for Fletcher, who is not in a position to get too cute. This head coaching hire is the second of Fletcher’s tenure as Flyers GM. There’s a real pressure to get it right, which makes it feel more likely that the Flyers will look for a bloated résumé.
As a head coach, Quinn has three games of NHL postseason experience and no victories. Mike Yeo, the Flyers’ placeholder this season following Vigneault’s firing, owns 39 postseason games and three series victories. After finishing his interim duties, he was told he would not be considered as the Flyers’ next head coach.
The optics of hiring Quinn would not be ideal. After missing the playoffs in consecutive years for the first time since 1992-93 and 1993-94, the Flyers are facing frustrated fans and took a hit in attendance this season. A splashier hire would help ignite excitement before the first practice is even held. It’s fair to say Quinn’s name does not come with the cachet of the other established bench bosses available.
Over the last two seasons, the Flyers’ penalty kill has ranked last in the NHL at 74.6 percent. Quinn’s Rangers clubs did not have a strong PK through his three seasons, ranking 22nd in the league at 79 percent.
During his tenure, New York was inconsistent in goal prevention overall. It allowed 3.09 goals per game, the 11th most in the NHL over that span.
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