Peter Laviolette Relieved of Duties as Rangers Head Coach

The Lavi era is over on broadway.

After a dreadfully disappointing season, GM Chris Drury announced today that the team will be moving on from Peter Laviolette and associate coach Phil Housley.

Pete’s legacy as Rangers coach will be marked by a monumental collapse from winning the President’s Trophy and getting within 6 wins of a Stanley Cup in his first year, to missing the playoffs altogether in what was a tumultuous, dramatic, and ultimately a failure of a second year.

Tolerance for failure in New York is never high, and we all knew heads would roll for this wasted season.

The biggest flaw in Laviolette’s coaching tendencies is his overt stubbornness when it comes to relying on veterans over youth. When he was the coach of the Washington Capitals, players like Aliaksei Protas and Connor McMichael were never entrusted with big minutes. Spencer Carbery stepped in once Lavi was fired and turned those same players into key pieces of the best team in the East this season. The Rangers should look to replace Lavi with someone that will hopefully do the same with their youth. Will Cuylle, Brennan Othmann and Gabe Perreault will all be looking to make more of an impact next season, and that opportunity should be provided given the level of underperforming displayed by the Rangers’ veteran players this year.

The Rangers will be interviewing assistant coaches Dan Muse and Michael Peca in regard to their future with the team, and Drury has made it clear that they are keeping their options open in the hunt for the next head coach, even if that means a first timer.

Should the Pittsburgh Penguins decide to make a coaching change of their own, the belief is that Mike Sullivan would become the number one target for the job in New York. John Tortorella is certainly a candidate that they will do their due diligence on. Beyond that it does seem like every option will be explored, so I think it’s far too early to narrow it down to a true short list of certain candidates.

The Rangers have a long Summer ahead of them, as the contracts of Will Cuylle and K’andre Miller both expired as the pair becomes restricted free agents. There’s plenty of work to do and decisions to be made, so there should be no shortage of news around the team as the offseason rolls on.