Gerard Gallant is retiring after two seasons as New York Rangers coach.
Rangers said Saturday they “mutually agreed to part ways” after losing in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs earlier this week.
No replacement was named.
New York, who was 47-22-13 in the regular season, lost 4-0 to the New Jersey Devils Monday at the Prudential Center in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference first round at the Prudential Center. They held a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series but lost four of their next five games and scored twice in the four losses.
“First of all, I want to thank Gerard for his work and dedication to Rangers during his time as head coach,” Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury said Saturday. “I have a lot of respect for Gerard as a coach and as a person and really appreciate everything he has done for us on and off the ice over the last two seasons. After my evaluation of the season and discussions with Gerard, we came to the conclusion that a change would be beneficial for both sides. I wish him and his family all the best for the future. Our search for a new head coach will begin immediately.”
The decision to let Gallant go comes after Rangers went all-in ahead of the 2023 NHL trade deadline and forwards Vladimir Tarasenko, Patrick Kane and Tyler Motte and defenseman Niko Mikkola in hopes of a Stanley Cup run have taken over this season.
They reached the Eastern Conference Finals last season, Gallant’s first behind New York bench, and entered this season with higher expectations fueled by trade acquisitions, particularly Tarasenko and Kane, before the deadline.
Rangers started slow and went 11-10-5 through December 3. They were 36-12-8 in their last 56 games to take third place in the Metropolitan Division. They went 22-4-3 in a 29-game stretch from December 5 through February 2. 17
The Rangers acquired Tarasenko and Mikkola from the St. Louis Blues on February 9, Motte from the Ottawa Senators on February 19, and Kane in a three-team trade with the Chicago Blackhawks and Arizona Coyotes on February 28.
But they didn’t advance past the first round after winning Games 1 and 2 by identical 5-1 scores at the Prudential Center. They lost Games 3 and 4 at Madison Square Garden, 2-1 in overtime and 3-1, respectively.
Gallant heavily criticized the team after Game 4, calling them twice for laziness, but the Rangers didn’t respond in Game 5 at the Prudential Center, losing 0-4. They forced a Game 7 by going into Game 6 at Madison Square Garden with 5-2 won but were then ruled out again in Game 7.
“I’d like to… thank you [owner James] Dolan, Chris and the Rangers organization for giving me the opportunity to be their head coach for the past two seasons,” Gallant said. “The experience of coaching an Original Six franchise with such a rich history and an incredibly passionate fanbase is something I will never forget. After talking to my family and Chris, it became clear that this was the right decision for both me and Rangers at the time.”
In two seasons under Gallant, Rangers went 99-46-19 for a .662 point percentage. During that time, they ranked fifth in the NHL in points and sixth in wins with the Edmonton Oilers and Minnesota Wild.
Gallant was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award for Best Coach in the NHL last season.
The Rangers were under Gallant 13-14 in the playoffs but had a 2-0 lead in each of their last two series — beating the Tampa Bay Lightning in last season’s Eastern Conference Finals and beating the Devils in the first round of that season season — and didn’t win either series.
“I think we averaged 108 points in two years, I think that was excellent,” Gallant said of Rangers keeping their season-ending availability. “We had a great first season, we lost to the defending Stanley Cup champions in the semifinals. This year we lost in the first round. Did I have a tough two weeks? Did we have a tough two weeks? Yeah.
“But that aside, I can’t believe I have to answer some of these questions about getting sacked or fired that the media are throwing up. Disappointing. … If I can’t stand by my record and what I’ve got done, I think there’s something wrong.”
Gallant has a career record of 369-262-70 (with four ties) in 705 regular-season games since 2003-04 with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers, Vegas Golden Knights and Rangers. His teams are 31-29 in the playoffs, including a run to the Stanley Cup Finals with Vegas in 2018 when they lost to the Washington Capitals in five games. Gallant won the Jack Adams that season.
Gallant is the fifth coach to be fired since the end of the regular season, after Daryl Sutter (Calgary Flames), Dallas Eakins (Anaheim Ducks), Peter Laviolette (Washington Capitals) and Brad Larsen (Columbus Blue Jackets).