The New York Rangers had the best record in the NHL a year ago. Now could miss the playoffs just a year later.
With New York battling for a playoff spot, NHL analyst Stan Fischler of The Hockey News believes the Rangers should make a coaching change. Fischler believes not only should Peter Laviolette be fired, but New York should bring back John Tortorella.
“John Tortorella should be the Rangers coach right now. Make that, right this minute! If anyone can awaken this sleepwalking bunch of underachievers, it is the ex-firebrand, formerly of Philadelphia,” Fischler wrote. “For the Madison Square Garden moguls, the Philly firing is exactly what the Rangers need – as quickly as possible.”
It would be a bold move to bring back Tortorella, who was just fired by the Philadelphia Flyers. He’s also known for his fiery personality. But, that could be what is needed for New York after a lackluster season where they often show no energy in games.
Tortorella coached the Rangers from 2009 until 2013. He led the Rangers to a 171-118-1 record during his tenure. Tororella also led New York to the conference finals in two years. He also helped the Tampa Bay Lightning win the Stanley Cup in 2004.
Insider Expects Rangers to Fire Laviolette
With New York battling for a playoff spot, the future of Laviolette as the coach is up in the air.
Laviolette has been the Rangers’ coach for two years. However, after the lackluster year this season, NHL insider Frank Seravalli expects New York to move on from Laviolette.
“I’ll be very surprised if Peter Laviolette is the coach of the Rangers on May 1st,” Seravalli said on Daily Faceoff Live on March 27.
Despite helping New York have the best record in the NHL a year ago, his future is very much up in the air. Laviolette became the first head coach in NHL history to guide six different teams to the Stanley Cup playoffs after leading the Rangers to the postseason a year ago.
Flyers Fire Tortorella
Tortorella had one year left on his deal, but Philadelphia opted to move on from him.
With the Flyers well out of a playoff spot, general manager Daniel Briere opted to make the decision to fire Tortorella.
“Today I made the very difficult decision to move on from John as our head coach,” Briere said in a statement. “John played a vital role in our rebuild. He set a standard of play and re-established what it means to be a Philadelphia Flyer. John’s passion on the bench was only equaled by his charitable work in our community. As we move into the next chapter of this rebuild, I felt this was the best for our team to move forward. I’d like to thank John for his tireless work and commitment to the Flyers.”
After the firing, Briere said he hopes this is rock bottom for Philadelphia.
“I really hope that this is the bottom,” Briere said. “This is rock bottom for us today, and this is the turnaround.”
The Flyers are 29-36-9 this season.
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