NEW YORK -- The New York Rangers will name Tom Webster head coach today, a source close to the team told United Press International.
Webster, 38, met Tuesday with Phil Esposito, Rangers general manager and interim coach. Webster is in his second season coaching Windsor of the Ontario Hockey League and two years ago had coached the Rangers' top farm club.
Webster, a former player with the NHL's Detroit Red Wings and the World Hockey Association's New England Whalers, agreed to a two-year contract, the source said.
Esposito would not comment on the coaching situation. The Rangers have scheduled a 2 p.m. EST news conference to name the new coach.
Esposito had fired Coach Ted Sator and his assistants late last week and took took over the coaching reins himself. However, he said he wanted to find a replacement for Sator as soon as possible.
Webster and Terry Crisp, a minor-league hockey coach and former player, were rumored to be the leading candidates for the job, and Crisp was reported earlier this week to have an edge. But the source said Crisp had requested a four- or five-year contract, which the Rangers would not offer.
Webster, the source said, is expected to join Esposito behind the New York bench tonight in Madison Square Garden, when the Rangers host the Quebec Nordiques.
Crisp, formerly with the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders, met with the Rangers Monday. He is currently coach and general manager of the Calgary Flames' Moncton farm club in the American Hockey League.
'It's not a problem,' Crisp said about not getting the job. 'I went down for an interview and I was happy to be considered. Tommy's a very good man. He's been through the ropes and knows what he's doing.'
Webster two years ago coached the Rangers' farm club at Tulsa of the now-defunct Central Hockey League. The Tulsa club lost use of its arena early in the 1983-84 season, then became known as the 'CHL Oilers' and played all its games on the road. Still, the team finished second and won the playoffs.
Webster was hired two years ago by Windsor GM Jim Rutherford, a former Detroit teammate. Webster has helped turn around a franchise that traditionally was one of the OHL's worst.
