New York Rangers President and General Manager Chris Drury announced today that the Rangers organization and head coach Gerard Gallant have mutually agreed to part ways.
The New York Rangers and head coach Gerard Gallant have agreed to part ways ending his reign behind the Rangers bench in two seasons.
The Ranger’s press release is as follows;
“I want to first thank Gerard for his work and commitment to the Rangers during his time as head coach,” said Drury. “I have a ton of respect for Gerard as both a coach and person and truly appreciate everything he did for us on and off the ice these last two seasons. After my evaluation of the season and discussions with Gerard, we mutually came to the conclusion that a change would be beneficial for both parties. I wish him and his family all the best in the future. Our search for a new head coach will begin right away.”
“I would like to thank Mr. Dolan, Chris, and the Rangers organization for giving me the opportunity to be their head coach these last two seasons,” said Gallant. “The experience of coaching an Original Six franchise with such rich history and an incredibly passionate fanbase is something I will never forget. After conversations with my family and Chris, it became clear that this was the right decision for both myself and the Rangers at this time.”
Gallant led the Blueshirts to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, where they were defeated by the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 after they had a 2-0 lead.
This year the Rangers again had a 2-0 lead in the first round of the playoffs against the New Jersey Devils but then suffered another collapse losing the series to the New Jersey Devils in seven games.
There had been rumors that Chris Drury had an argument with the coaching staff after game 4 of their series, the Devils had tied the series at two, and other rumors of the head coach having heated arguments with players.
He had been taking heavy criticism for not changing up the line combinations after the team struggled to score goals against rookie goalie Akira Schmid took the starter’s position, winning 4 of the final 5 games and advancing to round two.
Peter Laviolette, Darryl Sutter, and Joel Quenneville are potential candidates to replace Gallant.