Acclaimed coach Jacques Martin joins Rangers' staff

Jacques Martin, who won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s Coach of the Year in 1998-99 and was a finalist three other times, has been hired by the Rangers as an assistant coach on David Quinn’s staff, the team announced Monday.

Martin spent the last seven seasons in the Pittsburgh organization, including parts of the last five seasons as an assistant coach. But he was fired Aug. 12, along with fellow assistants Mark Recchi and Sergei Gonchar, after the Penguins were eliminated in the qualifying round for the playoffs by Montreal.

Martin fills the spot on Quinn’s staff that was vacated by Lindy Ruff, who left the Rangers in July to take over as coach of the Devils. Gord Murphy, the associate head coach for the Rangers’ Hartford farm club, served as a temporary assistant in place of Ruff for the Rangers’ qualifying round series in Toronto against Carolina.

Martin was on the Penguins staff when they won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017 and served as a head coach in the NHL for 17 seasons for four different teams (St. Louis, Ottawa, Florida and Montreal). As a head coach, he had a record of 613-481-200 in 1,294 games.

Kravtsov on loan

The Rangers have loaned 2018 first-round pick Vitali Kravtsov to his old KHL club, Traktor Chelyabinsk, for the 2020-21 season. Kravtsov, who split last season between Hartford and Traktor, had been on the Rangers’ taxi squad during the qualifying round series against Carolina, but he did not get into a game. The KHL season begins on Sept. 2 and the NHL season will not start before Dec. 1, at the earliest. Traktor opens its season Sept. 3 against Avtomobilist.

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.