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David Quinn Officially Named Head Coach of the New York Rangers

Quinn is the 35th head coach in the history of the franchise.

David Quinn is officially the next head coach of the New York Rangers, replacing Alain Vigneault who was fired after the end of a disappointing season.

Quinn, a defenseman, played college hockey with BU, but he was unable to establish a professional career because he was diagnosed with Hemophilia B, which is also known as Christmas disease. This diagnosis came while he was trying out for the 1988 U.S. Olympic team. This condition prevents blood from clotting normally which forced him into retirement. He originally had been drafted No. 13 overall in the 1984 draft by the Minnesota North Stars.

He attempted a comeback after he was able to secure funding for medication, and although he didn’t make the 1992 Olympic team, Quinn signed his first professional contract with the Rangers in 1992, and spent the remainder of the 1991-92 season as a member of the Binghamton Rangers. He spent the following season with the Cleveland Lumberjacks in the IHL, and that was the extent of his playing career.

Fast forwarding to the present, Quinn had been the head coach of the Boston University Terriers since 2013, and he compiled a record of 105-67-21 (.598) in five seasons. Previously Quinn served as an assistant from 2004 to 2009 before coaching the Lake Erie Monsters from 2009 to 2012, and serving as an assistant to Joe Sacco on the Colorado Avalanche during the 2012-13 season shortened by the lockout. He also had assistant stints at Northeastern (1994 to 1996), Nebraska-Omaha (1996-2002) and a variety of roles with Team USA at their various levels.

At BU, Quinn had the difficult task of replacing Jack Parker, a legendary coach who played at the University from 1965 to 1968 before becoming an assistant from 1969 to 1973. He took over the team the following season and held that role until 2013 compiling a record of 897-472-115 (.643) which included three NCAA National Championships and a bevy of other notable accolades.

Quinn’s most successful season was the 2014-15 campaign in which his squad went 28-9-5 in the regular season before falling short in the National Championship game. He is known for his ability to recruit, his ability to coach young talent and his communication skills.

These are three things that will be of value to the Rangers, and at this point the biggest question remaining is who will join Quinn on the bench? Blueshirt Banter will have more on Quinn in the coming days, but in case you missed it, I would suggest checking out the latest podcast which featured Jeff Cox of the NE Hockey Journal and Jeff Reiser of SB Nation providing insight on the Blueshirt’s newest bench boss.

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