David Quinn is following Mike Sullivan back to New York.
The former rookie Rangers coach, who stood behind the bench for three seasons from 2018 to 2021, is set to remain on Sullivan’s staff — after the two reunited in Pittsburgh last season — and return to his first NHL club as an assistant, per a league source.
Joe Sacco and Ty Hennes will fill out the remainder of the Rangers coaching staff, with all three serving as assistants.
After joining his Boston University teammate’s staff with the Penguins last season, Quinn is sticking with his longtime friend and getting a second chance on Broadway.
Sullivan is also about to embark on his next chapter with the Rangers after the 57-year-old served as an assistant on John Tortorella’s staff from 2009 to 2013.
Rising from a five-season run as head coach at Boston University, Quinn was hired to lead the Rangers through a sort of fast-tracked rebuild in May 2018.
Nine months earlier, the Rangers released The Letter to fans announcing their intentions.
Quinn finished with a 96-87-25 record at the helm and only a qualifying-round appearance in the 2020 bubble playoffs following the COVID-impacted 2019-20 season.
The Rangers dismissed Quinn, as well as general manager Jeff Gorton and president John Davidson, after the team capped another playoff-less season with a five-game losing streak to clubs that manhandled them both skillfully and physically.
That included the infamous Tom Wilson game on May 3, 2021, when the Capitals agitator pushed his stick down on Pavel Buchnevich’s neck and rag-dolled star Artemi Panarin.
Quinn was initially brought in for his reputation of developing young talent.
There was eventual criticism, however, regarding the way he managed his players.
Still, Panarin, Mika Zibanejad and former Blueshirt Ryan Strome had career years under Quinn at the time.
Adam Fox also won the Norris Trophy in his sophomore season while playing for Quinn.
Having also served as Sullivan’s assistant at the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-off tournament, Quinn’s only other NHL head coaching experience came in the form of a two-season stint with the Sharks.
San Jose, which is still in a rebuilding phase, went 41-98-25 under Quinn.
Sacco and Quinn were in the mix for other opportunities around the league, per a source, but the Rangers were able to secure the two.
Leaving his interim head coaching job with the Bruins, Sacco joins the Rangers after 12 seasons in Boston.
Sacco, also a BU alum and former teammate of Sullivan’s, spent the first decade as an assistant before getting promoted to associate coach last season.
After Jim Montgomery was fired, Sacco was promoted to the job on an interim basis.
A Massachusetts native like Sullivan, Sacco also served as head coach of the Avalanche for four seasons earlier in his career.
Hennes has worked under Sullivan in Pittsburgh since 2018-19, when he started as a skating and skills coach.
He initially led mostly skills drills and injured players’ rehab skates for four seasons before he was promoted to assistant during the 2022-23 season, per Elite Prospects.
Following the Rangers’ dismissal of Peter Laviolette, both assistants — Michael Peca and Dan Muse — took jobs elsewhere despite being in the mix to remain in New York.
While Peca joined Jeff Blashill’s staff in Chicago, Muse accepted his first head coaching position in the NHL and is set to succeed Sullivan behind the Penguins bench.
The only holdovers from last season’s Rangers staff will be goalie coach Jeff Malcolm and skills coach Christian Hmura.
