Products You May Like
The New York Rangers announced on Wednesday that they’ve fired head coach David Quinn and most of his coaching staff.
Only two coaches will reportedly continue in their roles going forward.
Goaltending coach Benoit Allaire, who started in that role in 2004, has now outlasted five head coaches: Glen Sather, Tom Renney, John Tortorella, Alain Vigneault and Quinn.
Quinn had been with the Rangers for three seasons, racking up a 96-87-25 record. According to the New York Post, the team is planning to bring in an experienced head coach to replace him. That new head coach will have one goal: get the team to the playoffs.
A week of firings
Quinn’s ouster comes just a week after the team stunningly fired GM Jeff Gorton and president John Davidson. Both executives were shown the door (or, according to the Rangers’ official statement, “leaving the organization”) a day after the team released a statement sharply criticizing the NHL department of player safety and department head George Parros.
The statement was in response to the punishment given to Washington Capitals player Tom Wilson for seriously injuring Rangers player Artemi Panarin during an on-ice altercation. Wilson, who has a history of similar incidents (he’s been suspended five times and fined three times since 2017), was fined just $5,000 and not given a suspension. Panarin had to miss the remainder of the season.
The Rangers’ statement about Gorton and Davidson says that they were dismissed for performance reasons, since the team failed to make the playoffs in 2021. Multiple reports say that their firing has nothing to do with the feather-ruffling statement about Wilson’s fine, but the timing of owner James Dolan’s decision is extremely suspect.
More from Yahoo Sports: