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New York Rangers Fire Head Coach After Embarrassing Season

Originally posted on House of Hockey
By Graham Montgomery | Last updated Apr 19, 2025 1:56 PM ET

The New York Rangers made their first move of the offseason today, shaking things up behind the bench for the club.

One could argue that the New York Rangers had the most disappointing season among any team in the NHL this year.

The team made the Eastern Conference finals last year and were just a few wins away from playing for the Stanley Cup, but this year they won't even get a chance to play in the first round.

Goaltender Igor Shesterkin revealed that it was the most disappointing season of his career so far.

Understandably, this means that change is coming for the organization.

Today, general manager Chris Drury made his first move as he parted ways with head coach Peter Laviolette, a move confirmed by NHL insider Frank Seravalli.

Assistant coach Phil Housley was also let go as part of the same announcement.

The Rangers went 39-37-6 this season which gave them 85 points, missing the playoffs by 6, which is a fairly substantial margin despite the fact that it came down to the end of the season.

Furthermore, the team had 114 points last year, so that is a drop off of 29 points.

Perhaps Drury's hard nosed tactics of placing players on waivers who refuse to waive their no trade clauses had a lasting impact on the culture within the team's locker room.

Perhaps trading the captain after threatening to do the same to him rubbed some players the wrong way.

Perhaps Peter Laviolette refusing to give young players bigger opportunities made some players feel unwelcome or like they shouldn't even bother putting in their best efforts.

Whatever the case, the organization certainly has a lot of work to do this offseason, and it starts with looking themselves in the mirror and identifying the real problems they have internally.

This article first appeared on House of Hockey and was syndicated with permission.

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