Rangers Fire Head Coach After Disastrous Season

The New York Rangers have fired head coach Peter Laviolette and associate coach Phil Housley, the team announced Saturday.

“Today I informed Peter Laviolette and Phil Housley that we’re making a coaching change,” general manager Chris Drury said in a statement. “I want to thank them both and wish them and their families all the best going forward. Peter is first class all the way, both professionally and personally, and I am truly grateful for his passion and dedication to the Rangers in his time as head coach.

"After finishing with the best regular season record in the NHL a year ago and making a trip to the Eastern Conference Final, we came into this season with high expectations for ourselves. Quite simply, we failed to meet those expectations. We must all do better – myself included. As we head into next season and beyond, I felt that a change was necessary in order to give us the best chance to achieve our goals as an organization. Our search for a new head coach will begin immediately.”

Laviolette, 60, had a great first season with the Rangers as he led them to the Presidents' Trophy, but his second season was nothing short of a disaster. New York finished with just 85 points, 29 fewer than it did last season, to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2021, and pretty much every star player underperformed.

Add in the off-ice drama, and it became clear that change was needed.

More than that, Laviolette was talking and acting like a dead man walking recently.

After a 5-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 7, he said "I don't have a message right now," and "I don't go into the locker room after the game." Soon after, he made the baffling decision to scratch top prospect Gabe Perreault, furthering criticism on his refusal to let younger players shine.

Laviolette previously coached the New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators and Washington Capitals. He has the most wins of any American coach in league history with 674, and he won the Stanley Cup with the Hurricanes in 2006.

After a messy breakup with the Rangers, though, Laviolette's future in the NHL is questionable.