GM Chris Drury takes blame for Rangers mess after firing coach Peter Laviolette: ‘It starts with me’
Peter Laviolette is out as New York Rangers coach. But the man who fired him, general manager Chris Drury, is well aware that Laviolette is not solely to blame for one of the most disappointing seasons in Rangers history.
“Leading into the season, given the success we had the last few years, we had high expectations. Quite simply, we fell short across the board,” Drury told reporters Saturday. “Nobody here takes it lightly. We know our fans are frustrated and they deserve a better season than this. It starts with me. I need to do a better job and give the staff and players the opportunity to succeed.”
This couldn’t have been easy for Drury. He has tremendous respect for Laviolette, whom he hired two years ago to replace Gerard Gallant. Laviolette led the Rangers to franchise records for wins (55) and points (114) in 2023-24, when they won the Presidents’ Trophy and reached the Eastern Conference Final.
On Saturday, Drury praised Laviolette’s Hall of Fame worthy resume, that includes a Stanley Cup championship with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 and 846 career wins, more than any United States-born coach in NHL history and seventh overall all-time.
“I don’t have a Hall of Fame vote, but I’m pretty sure he’s going to be a Hall of Fame coach someday,” he said.
But that wasn’t enough to save Laviolette’s job after the Rangers imploded this season, becoming only the fourth team to win the Presidents’ Trophy one season and fail to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs the next. The Rangers (39-36-7) were a dysfunctional team on and off the ice this season, and it appeared late in the campaign, Laviolette had run out of answers about how to turn things around.
“While ultimately I made the decision a new voice was needed behind the bench, everyone here — players, management, staff — needs to take ownership of this season, and will be having direct, honest conversations during exit meetings on Monday about what our expectations are for the summer and moving forward, getting ready for next season,” Drury explained.
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Drury was asked specifically if there was a communication issue between Laviolette and the players — several of whom, including Calvin de Haan most recently, spoke out angrily about playing time. The GM didn;t dismiss the notion, but appeared to support his former coach in this area.
“I know for a fact ‘Lavi’ is really big on communication and communicated to his players throughout his two years here. Where they stood and why they were out or why they were in or what their role was or wasn’t,” Drury said. “Communication is a priority. Being a former player myself, I always liked to know where I stood and we always try to do that with players every single day.”
How about a culture issue with the Rangers? It sure appeared there were an inordinate amount of no-shows this season and a distinct inability to dig down and find ways to win and overcome issues, unlike the resilient 2023-24 squad.
“We’re going to be looking at everything. Whether it’s the specific question you ask or other things that have come up along the way this year that we’ve already begun to look at and looked at during the year,” Drury stated. “Unfortunately, we do have extra time with not being in the playoffs to look at a lot of things this offseason and, again, try and make sure we’re back in the playoffs next year.”
Drury wouldn’t address his job status nor his recent conversations with owner James Dolan. But it appears that he’s remaining on the job and set to make his third coaching hire in four years.
As for that next coach, Drury said he wouldn’t rule out bringing in a first-timer at the NHL level. To that end, it’s been reported that assistants Michael Peca and Dan Muse will have the opportunity to interview for the vacancy. University of Denver coach David Carle, who’s also had much success guiding the United States to consecutive gold medals at the World Junior Championships in 2024 and 2025 where he coached Rangers prospects Gabe Perreault and Drew Fortecsue, could also be an option.
Mike Sullivan, Rick Tocchet, Joel Quenneville and John Tortorella are among the well-known current and former NHL coaches who may be considered.
There’s a lot of work to be done with the roster, as well, including major decision on the Rangers futures of Chris Kreider and K’Andre Miller, for example.
“I can tell you my focus is on doing what I think is right to make this organization better. We’re obviously all frustrated and disappointed with how things ended and not being in the playoffs. My focus is on doing everything I can do make sure we’re a playoff team next year.”
