Welcome Home Mike

The year was 1987. Nugman was just a baby, waking up every morning soiled and crying (actually Dave Pucks still has the occasional morning that begins in exactly this fashion). And in the 1987 NHL draft, with the 67th overall pick, the New York Rangers selected:

Michael Sullivan. A kid from Boston College.

And now, 22 quick years later - Mike Sullivan is a New York Ranger once again.

Coach John Tortorella will be reunited with his former assistant at the Tampa Bay Lightning as Sullivan will become a Ranger Associate Coach. (An associate coach - as best we can figure - is like a fancy assistant coach).

John and Mike teamed up to win a Stanley Cup a few years back - the first ever by a US born coach. The question is - can they do it again?

This is another signal that Torts has a big say in the Ranger's front office moves - and he should. Like Sather - he's got the cup on his resume - and unlike Sather, Torts accomplished this in the current millennium.

GM Glen Sather has now assembled a coaching staff that has proven itself capable of going all the way. The question now switches to: with the coaching in place, how far this group of players can take us. The answer to that question should tell us about Glen's future here as well.