If a recent report is accurate, the New York Rangers will attract some seriously high-profile candidates for their vacant head coaching position.
According to Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos, Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier — two of the most prominent players in the history of the franchise — are both interested in the job.
The Rangers entered the season as a Stanley Cup favorite under John Tortorella, but a subpar regular season and second-round playoff exit cost Tortorella his job, leaving a vacancy behind the bench for general manager Glen Sather to fill.
Gretzky and Messier have experience in head coaching roles, and both would certainly be greeted with open arms by a fanbase that has not seen a championship since Messier’s “guaranteed” playoff run in 1993-94. The former Rangers captain served as Team Canada’s boss in 2010, and Gretzky spent four seasons coaching the Phoenix Coyotes before stepping down in 2009.
Whether or not these two legends would lead the Blueshirts back to the promised land is up for debate, but having either one of them behind the Rangers bench would certainly make for some great storylines.
