Tortorella Rated Seventh Best Coach of the Decade

I know this may be bad timing for a post like this since all of you have been disgusted in the way head coach John Tortorella has been running this team, however, I thought I would throw it up onto the site. Yahoo's Puck Daddy created a list ranking the top ten coaches of the 21st century. The Blueshirts' very own John Tortorella made the list in seventh place, mainly because of the way he took a sinking team in the Tampa Bay Lightning and made them Stanley Cup Champions in 2004.

Barring a Carolina Hurricanes-esque losing streak, Torts will have started and ended the decade as coach of the Rangers. He'll also have seen his most success right smack in the middle of his coaching career when he was bench boss of the Lightning.

After last night's loss to the Penguins, Tortorella's career record while behind the bench is 264-245-37-41, putting him just above .500. Ironically, Tortorella first entered the league as interim head coach of the Rangers back in the 1999-2000 season, but then went on to spend seven seasons with the Lightning in which he reached the playoffs four times.

There is no doubt Tortorella is an icon among National Hockey League coaches, especially in America as he was born and raised in Boston. Torts will be joining the Leafs' Ron Wilson and the Islanders' Scott Gordin in taking control of the United States Olympic squad in Vancouver this February. This just goes to show how well respected he is around the league.

So far this season, though, Tortorella has not been working his magic with this struggling Rangers team. He has already made numerous controversial decisions in benching the wrong players at the wrong times, placing forwards in positions they should not play, and one of the more agitating, goaltender selection. At the same time, we are only in the second quarter of the season and Tortorella has a lot more coaching to do, but so far, I believe that Renney has outcoached Torts in terms of getting the most out of his roster.

(Image courtesy of AP Photo)