(
)
Henrik Lundqvist did indeed give a public voice to the Rangers’ disaffection on break-up day that, in retrospect, foretold the dismissal of John Tortorella as head coach 48 hours later, but this was not a case of the King leading a coup, it wasn’t that at all.
It wasn’t Magic Johnson seeing to it Paul Westhead would be fired in LA way back when and it wasn’t John Elway once upon a time easing the way for Dan Reeves’ dismissal in Denver.
“I know there is some speculation regarding Torts being fired, but let’s be clear on one thing,” Lundqvist told The Post yesterday via e-mail in addressing the situation for the first time. “It’s not my call who the coach should be for the New York Rangers.
“I would never put pressure on the management on decisions like that. I’m just a player. My focus is to play the game and do the best I can on the ice. Whatever [happens] off the ice, I leave to our great staff we have working for this club.”
A player? Yes. Just a player? Hardly. No one in sports is irreplaceable, but the franchise goaltender is as close as they come to fitting that description for the Rangers. And when Lundqvist issued a tepid response regarding his desire to sign a long-term extension on his contract that expires after this coming season (“We’ll see”), alarm bells began to sound about the direction of the franchise.
His vague comments represented the tip of an unseen iceberg of a break-up day on which a critical mass of players had used their exit interviews with management to express growing concern over Tortorella’s unyielding and volatile approach behind the bench.
Now, with the fresh start of the Alain Vigneault Era that is set to begin with tomorrow’s official announcement of the hiring of the former Vancouver coach, the path does appear clear for Lundqvist to reign indefinitely on Broadway even if hard negotiations loom.
“It has no impact for me on who the coach is when it comes to my contract,” the 31-year-old goaltender told The Post. “I love everything about the New York Rangers. I love the fans. I love the organization.
“I hope we can work something out when it is time to do so.”
Left intentionally unsaid, of course, is just when Lundqvist believes it is time to do so, but it is more likely than not that talks will begin relatively soon.
Tortorella arrived in New York in 2009 with the reputation of being as tough on goaltenders as he was on everyone else. For reference, see: Khabibulin, Nikolai. But the coach who ultimately got the best out of Khabibulin in 2004 got the best out of Lundqvist, as well.
“Torts and I had a great relationship,” said Lundqvist, who has returned to his home in Sweden for the summer. “It was exciting and refreshing to play for him. I never had a coach challenge me the way he did, in a good way.”
There was a time when Tortorella may have questioned Lundqvist’s position above the title on the marquee, but he got over it. There was the time Tortorella wasn’t happy about Lundqvist posing for a picture with Justin Bieber on celebrity row at a Knicks’ game the night before a Rangers’ match at the Garden, but he got over that, too.
There was also the time when the coach challenged the goaltender to prove his toughness—like the weekend in late March of 2011 when Lundqvist suffered a sprained neck in a goalmouth collision against Montreal at the Garden on Friday night but nevertheless played through pain to get a vital win in Pittsburgh on Sunday afternoon — but never again after that.
There was never a question — never — Tortorella had Lundqvist’s back.
Now, there shouldn’t be a question about whether Lundqvist planted a knife in Tortorella’s back. He wouldn’t. He didn’t.
This was no coup here engineered by the King.
larry.brooks@nypost.com