Peter Laviolette is the latest to pay the price for the Rangers’ calamitous 2024-25 season.
The veteran head coach was fired Saturday, the team announced, putting an end to his New York tenure after two seasons that couldn’t have gone much differently. Associate head coach Phil Housley was also let go, while assistants Dan Muse and Michael Peca will have opportunities to interview for positions on the next coaching staff, according to a person with knowledge of the situation, who spoke to lohud.com, part of the USA TODAY Network, on the condition of anonymity.
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Year 1 under Laviolette saw the Blueshirts capture the fourth Presidents’ Trophy in franchise history and go on a run to the Eastern Conference Finals. Year 2 saw the team faceplant and miss the playoffs for the first time in four seasons.
That fall from grace was exacerbated by behind-the-scenes drama and locker-room angst that bubbled to surface over the course of 82 games. Laviolette wasn’t to blame for all of it − far from it − with many problems stemming from deeper cultural issues that have festered under team president Chris Drury, as well as flaws in roster construction that came to the forefront this season. But the 60-year-old bench boss failed to effectively rally his troops and uncover solutions.
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The Rangers suffered regression across the board, with each of their top-six scorers from the previous season – Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck, Chris Kreider, Adam Fox, Mika Zibanejad and Alexis Lafrenière − finishing well below their 2023-24 point totals.
Even more damning were defensive deficiencies that always lurked under the hood but became difficult to overcome. New York ranked near the bottom of the NHL in several defensive metrics, with glaring weaknesses protecting the net front, defending against the rush and advancing pucks cleanly.
All the while, Laviolette
stubbornly stuck to a man-to-man system that seemed ill-suited for his defensively inept personnel.
He also made questionable lineup choices throughout this frustrating season, often leaning on under-performing veterans at the expense of hungrier young players or fresher faces. Multiple players took issue with their usage and how those decisions were communicated, with Calvin de Haan, Zac Jones, Kaapo Kakko and Jimmy Vesey among those who spoke out. The deployment was especially perplexing as the Rangers faded from the playoff race in recent weeks − particularly in the case of top prospect Gabe Perreault, who went through a stretch of three straight healthy scratches.
But above all, the structure, commitment and preparation Laviolette was praised for fostering throughout his first season vanished. Practices lacked the intensity of the previous year and the team often came out flat on game days. Effort was questioned by the coach and players on several occasions, yet they continued to skate with fleeting purpose.
The Rangers doomed their season with a disastrous 4-15 run from mid-November through December, then went 6-10-3 in 19 games leading up to Saturday’s official elimination in Carolina. They repeatedly folded in the face of adversity, just one year after setting a franchise record with 28 comeback wins.
It’s fair to wonder how much of that disconnect stemmed from Drury’s in-season upheaval and handling of the leadership group, specifically Kreider’s inclusion in a November memo soliciting trade offers and the messy ousters of Barclay Goodrow and captain Jacob Trouba. But all indications are that owner James Dolan − who one source said is considering a more active role in exit interviews with players, which he did with the Knicks last year and found constructive − intends to keep Drury around, leaving Laviolette as the most obvious fall guy.
His NHL future is murky after 23 seasons as a head coach for six different teams, including a 93-59-11 record with the Rangers.
Meanwhile, Drury will embark on his third coaching search in four years.
The feeling among two league sources is that he’ll yet again prioritize experienced candidates, with Pittsburgh’s Mike Sullivan serving as his No. 1 target. But if he can’t pry the two-time Stanley Cup winner away from the Penguins, don’t be surprised to see a few familiar names enter the fray − including former Blueshirts coach John Tortorella. The Rangers’ level of interest is unclear, but word is Tortorella wants to keep coaching after being dismissed by the Flyers earlier this month and will push for the job.
Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.
