ALAIN VIGNEAULT
GLEN SATHER
FEELING BLUE: Mark Messier wanted to replace John Tortorella as Rangers head coach, but after the job went to Alain Vigneault, the former captain chose to leave his position with the organization. (N.Y. Post: Charles Wenzelberg)
Well here is an interesting twist to the Rangers’ coaching search that culminated with the hiring of Alain Vigneault rather than Mark Messier to replace John Tortorella.
That is, as Messier told The Post last night while discussing his decision to leave his front office position with the organization, that it was general manager Glen Sather who actually approached him about going behind the bench rather than No. 11 simply declaring his candidacy for the job.
“When the Ranger job became open, Glen asked me if I had interest in it,” said Messier, who will now work full-time on the development of the Kingsbridge National Ice Center in the Bronx. “After talking to my wife about it and what that kind of commitment would mean to our lives and our family, I told Glen I would be interested.
“But I told him that while I thought I had the qualities to take the Rangers to the next level, I didn’t want to be treated any differently than anyone else in the selection process,” Messier said by phone. “I told him he should go through a full process and interview other candidates and hire the person he felt was best for the job, even if that might not be me.
“And that’s what happened. Glen made the decision that Alain Vigneault was the right person. I have no bitterness over this. I have been involved with this project in the Bronx for over two years and had been thinking about making this kind of a move for a while.
“But when Glen asked me, I made the decision that if there were a way for me to help the team, I’d be willing to do it, whether in the front office or as coach. But they went in a different direction.”
Vigneault and Messier were the only two candidates who received in-person interviews for the job with Sather, who has implied that experience was an overriding factor in his choice.
“Experience is a part of it. If you want to coach in this league, you need a little experience,” Sather told reporters late yesterday afternoon following the Board of Governors meeting in Manhattan. “I think that Mark, if he decides to coach, will be great at it. He just needs to get a little time behind the bench.”
Vigneault has been an NHL head coach for 11 seasons, the last seven years with the Canucks, who won two President’s Trophies and went to the Cup Final under his guidance. Messier, of course, has limited experience, having coached Team Canada in a couple of B-level international tournaments.
Still, Messier last night exuded confidence that he could do the job even without taking the traditional route to it.
“I have tremendous respect for the coaching fraternity and for the art of coaching,” Messier told The Post. “I don’t take it lightly. I understand the benefit of experience.
“But I have a lot of experience in this game and in winning. I’m not 32. I’m 52. There’s a little bit of water under the bridge. I’ve learned a lot. My experience shouldn’t be discounted or under-appreciated, either.”
Messier, who had served as special assistant to Sather for the last four years, said he is passionate about the project in The Bronx that will feature nine public rinks and is scheduled to open in 2018.
“It’s a way for me to make a contribution to the children of the city that I love so much,” he said. “We need this here so we can get kids on the ice to play hockey.”
At the same time, Messier is not ruling out a return to the NHL in order to seek a seventh Stanley Cup.
“The future is wide open for me,” he said. “Obviously I feel I have a lot to offer an organization in any role. I feel confident I could do a great job as a coach in taking a team to another level.”
That team just won’t be the Rangers. At least not now.