The Biggest Loss Of The Offseason Is...JJ Daigneault?

The New York Rangers have not suffered the same roster casualties as some of our rivals (have fun in Minnesota, Zach Parise). The Rangers have not reached this point in the offseason completely unscathed, though. Mats Zuccarello opted to go back to Europe while the hard working Ruslan Fedotenko went back to Philadelphia, where he started his NHL career. And of course, Brandon Prust's departure is perhaps the most discussed and debated. All three of these players bring something to the table and Prust especially will be missed. But in my opinion, the biggest loss of the offseason is not a player and might not be someone you know much, if anything, about. And that is J.J. Daigneault, an assistant coach for the the Connecticut Whale, who has left the Rangers' minor league affiliate to join the Montreal Canadiens' bench.

With 899 career NHL games on the blue-line for an assortment of teams and a Stanley Cup to his name, J.J.j Daigneault certainly knows what it takes to be a successful defenseman in the NHL. And he brought that knowledge to the Connecticut Whale when he was hired as the defense coach. Daigneault was with the Rangers' organization the last six seasons, and in that time the Wolfpack/Whale have pumped out a number of defensemen who have contributed at the NHL level. Guys like Dan Girardi and Stu Bickel who were undrafted and were attempting to merely stick around in the AHL eventually became NHL regulars, Girardi of course turning into an All-Star defenseman. While players like Michael Sauer and Michael Del Zotto, whom many were skeptical could become relevant at the NHL level despite their talent, eventually figured their games out and have become quality NHL defensemen. Ryan McDonagh also spent some time with the Whale. According to The Hartford Courant's Paul Doyle, all of these guys have credited J.J. with some degree of their success. Prospects Dylan McIlrath and Blake Parlett have gone out of their way to credit J.J. Daigneault with helping them learn and improve. When I talked to Parlett last season, he told me this about Daigneault:

"J.J is a really good coach. I think the reason he has had so much success with young players is because he wants/lets guys play their games. If you’re an offensive defensemen he wants you to make plays and create offense, if you’re a shut down defensemen he wants you to play physical, make it hard to play against you. He is always willing to work extra with guys after practice on whatever they need to improve on." 

 It's no secret that the Rangers have one of the best young defensive corps in the NHL. And while Glen Sather and especially the scouting staff deserve much credit for finding these players, it's hard not to believe that J.J. Daigneault has been instrumental helping the Ryan McDonagh's and Michael Del Zotto's reach their potential while pushing the Dan Girardi's and Stu Bickel's far above theirs. Brandon Prust was a part of this team's identity, is a quality teammate and player, and will be missed. I don't mean to undermine the contributions of Prust, but ultimately we've watched these character, energy guys - Matthew Barnaby, Jed Ortmeyer, and Sean Avery are a few that come to mind - leave before. Someone new always fills those shoes. I do trust that Jeff Beaukeboom will do a good job replacing J.J.; is there a single better person in the world to mentor Dylan McIlrath? But when looking at the number of defensemen that have contributed in big ways after spending some time with J.J. Daigneault, it's hard not to think that his departure could prevent us from developing defensemen at the incredible rate that we had been during his six years with the team. And that, in my opinion, is a far greater loss than any individual bottom-six forward will ever be. 

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