David Quinn deserves second NHL chance after Rangers firing
NY Post
Can you imagine the uproar had David Quinn played a player like Leo Komarov on the Rangers’ first line the way that Barry Trotz has routinely slotted the plugger onto the Islanders’ top unit since late in the regular season?
Say after me: Often it is not as much about what the coach does as who the coach is. The stream of emails and messages from furious fans excoriating Quinn while lauding Trotz following this season’s stream of one-sided Battles of New York provided chuckles, chortles and guffaws.It was only a three-second glimpse, but Matt Rempe, finally, showcased offensive strides. The ones he started talking about in the preseason — after a summer’s worth of work — and kept doubling down on, even when he fluctuated in and out of the Rangers lineup and shuttled back and forth to AHL Hartford.
In a different time, in a season to come, we may be inclined to wax poetic about the way this one played out. In a different time, in a season to come, the Nets will be seeking to stack wins and not losses, will be fighting for playoff seeding and not for a few extra ping-pong balls in the draft lottery this spring.
The NBA has an All-Star Game problem. Despite Adam Silver’s efforts to inject juice into the February showcase — including a format alteration to the 2025 game that is too confusing to attempt to understand before it’s inevitably changed again — there’s little interest in watching teams eschew defense for a series of layup line highlights. That also means the most entertaining part of the NBA All-Star Game is just like the Pro Bowl — debating over who should get a spot.