MONTREAL, QC - FEBRUARY 27: Head coach of the New York Rangers David Quinn looks on from the bench during the third period against the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre on February 27, 2020 in Montreal, Canada. The New York Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens 5-2. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
In 2018 the Rangers were in the hunt for a new coach. They had committed to a rebuild and had fired incumbent Alain Vigneault. Convinced that they needed a teacher who could work with young players, they focused on coaches with development experience like Sheldon Keefe or collegiate experience, interviewing Jim Montgomery who ended up with the Dallas Stars and settling on David Quinn of Boston University.