Penguins Fire Coach Therrien, but Rangers Keep Renney

On February 15, Michel Therrien was officially removed from his duty as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins and the fans in the stands at the Rangers/Flyers game were singing "Fire Renney!"

Mark Herrmann, writing in Newsday, reported that the Rangers looked listless, lost, and embarrassed in a numbing 5-2 loss to the Flyers at Madison Square Garden and fans were singing "Fire Renney!" to the old tune of "Fire Isiah!"

But the Newsday writer says Renney does not deserve to take the fall for failing to ignite the Rangers because the current group is just not very flammable.

When Renney tried to get the players' attention by skating them to the point of nausea, they responded with their most humiliating defeat in years, 10-2 to the Stars.

Chris Drury and Scott Gomez have superstar salaries and cachet, but don't currently have the games to match. 

Hermann's solution? "Maybe Sean Avery will help", he says. "Let's not forget that Renney was as successful as any coach ever has been in drawing the best from Avery," he adds.

Jeff Marek, blogging for CBCsports.ca, agrees. "With Avery in their lineup, they had a swagger, a New York vibe about them. The Rangers looked like they came from New York every time Avery was on the game sheet," he says. "Explain it? I can’t. Nobody can really, but the evidence speaks for itself. With Sean Avery in the Rangers lineup they are just a better team."

Hermann quoted the Rangers only all-star, goalie Henrik Lundqvist. "We're missing a little bit of confidence," he said. "I don't know what we're missing, actually."

In Avery's season and a half with the Rangers, the club was 50-23-13 when he played and 24-35-9 when he was out of the lineup. He is now playing for the Hartford Wolf Pack, the Rangers affiliate in the AHL, no doubt chomping at the bit for a second chance on Broadway.