Messier Hire Putting Heat on Tortorella?

Andrew Gross at Ranger Rants takes an interesting look at the Mark Messier hiring...

"Here's another thought: Does Messier's hiring put any more pressure on John Tortorella to show results quickly? Messier has indicated he's more interested in a front office position than one in coaching. However, per Messier, Sather already asked him to coach the team once - before Sather had to take over for the fired Bryan Trottier while Messier was still a player - and Messier apparently was disappointed not to get a call from Sather about the job when Tom Renney was fired."

...i think Gross has a real legitimate point here. If the Rangers struggle out of the gate this season, you can be sure that the fans will be calling for Messier. If I'm Tortorella, I can't be too excited about this hiring. Hopefully, the Rangers will have a great season and this point will be moot.

Steve Zipay at Blue Notes takes a look at what the Vinnie Prospal signing does for the Rangers line-up.