For Tom Renney, the New York honeymoon is about to end.

His Brilliant Entry

Last year, he launched his credibility against three
prominent background points:

1. The Rangers had not made the playoffs on seven years
2. The roster was flawed, or at best uncertain
3. The team was developing young players

Then when the team collapsed at the end of the season,
there were two legitimate points in his defense:

4. The Olympics fatigued the team
5. Key injuries to Jagr and Lundqvist

So in the context of last year, Renney deserved plenty
of praise for the team's performance, regardless of
whether you liked the team's "European" style of play.

This Year is a New Landscape

But this year, almost all of the criteria that worked
in his favor last year are gone.

1. Ranger fans have been to the playoffs and are expecting more.

2. Glen Sather and Don Maloney did a stellar job improving
the roster

3. This is now a veteran team at MSG

4. The Olympics are not a factor

5. In the context of the new and deeper roster, Jagr's
injury does not provide the excuse it did last season

It's the Coach, not the Roster

It is nice to read Ranger-related discussion that is not 95%
centered around trades, as was typical pre-lockout.

The arguments are on which kids deserve a shot at the NHL,
or which line combinations work best.

That is a reflection on the work Sather/Maloney have done.
They brought in grit to balance the finesse, and now it's
Renney's job to add that grit to the lineup.

So far, the results have not been pretty.

Players are not finishing checks; not protecting their
star players; and not playing with energy.

Forsberg knocks Lundqvist over without a response. Ruutu
takes liberties with Jagr to no response.

This challenge is what happens when you're a leading team,
and so far the Rangers are wilting in front of it.

A Win-Now Team Has a Smaller Window

Yes, it's too early to panic or to make conclusions.

But if the team's performance does not improve, it's likely
that Tom Renney has about 15 games left before fans
and media become more vocal about his performance.

Of his top six forwards, Prucha is the youngest at 25,
followed by Cullen at 30.

After Tyutin on the blueline, with Pock now out of the lineup,
the youngest is Rachunek at 27. And if he is bumped for
Ozolinsh, then Roszival is youngest at 28.

So in that context, Renney has an immediate mandate to win.

Winning teams do not have giants in the lineup, but they
play a hard and gritty game every shift. It is that type
of relentless energy and grit that has proven successful.

Renney deserves time to adapt his philosophies to the
challenge.

But if at the quarter pole the team still resembles the one
that played in Buffalo, then he'll be on the hot seat and
likely replace Tom Poti as the team's whipping boy.

Those are the stakes when you coach a win-now team.

-Gabe

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