Rangers fire head coach Peter Laviolette, associate coach Phil Housley
On Saturday, New York Rangers general manager Chris Drury announced the team has fired head coach Peter Laviolette after just two seasons. The Rangers also relieved associate coach Phil Housley of his duties.
Drury said in a release that he thanked Drury and Housley for their efforts with the franchise, but admitted it was time for a change after missing the playoffs.
“Peter is first class all the way, both professionally and personally,” Laviolette said. “I am truly grateful for his passion and dedication to the Rangers in his time as head coach. … 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.”
Last season, the Rangers were arguably the best team in hockey. They won the President’s Trophy as the best team during the regular season, but came up short in the playoffs, losing to the eventual Stanely Cup champion Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final.
The Blueshirts followed that up with a very topsy-turvy season. Thanks to inconsistent play and off-ice drama that included Drury openly shopping some of the team’s biggest stars, the Rangers missed the playoffs for the first time in four years. It marked the fourth time in NHL history where a team won the President’s Trophy one year, but missed the postseason the next.
In Laviolette’s short tenure in Manhattan, the Rangers went 94-59-11 – a winning percentage of .607.
While it’s too early to tell who the favorite is to take over the role, Daily Faceoff insider Frank Seravalli reported that assistant coaches Michael Peca and Dan Muse will have the opportunity to be interviewed for the position, but the team says they will search far and wide for its next bench boss.
#NYR have fired coach Peter Laviolette and associate coach Phil Housley.
Michael Peca and Dan Muse will have the opportunity to interview to remain on the coaching staff, but search will be “wide ranging.”
The Rangers (39-36-7) finished fifth in the Metropolitan Division, missing the last Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference by six points.