With the New York Rangers officially eliminated from playoff contention, all eyes are on Peter Laviolette to see if he gets fired.
Laviolette is in the second year of a three-year contract with the Rangers and it’s no secret he’s on the hot seat.
One year after leading the Rangers to win the Presidents’ Trophy and record their best record in franchise history, they missed the playoffs, which has led to some pressing questions and concerns.
On multiple occasions, fans have chanted “Fire Lavy” as the Rangers’ struggles became increasingly apparent.
Laviolette was finally asked about his job security and gave an honest answer on where he potentially stands.
“I think everything gets looked at when a year is not good like this. I’m not blind to anything. I love being here with these guys and the New York Rangers,” Laviolette said via Mollie Walker of The New York Post. “It’s a year where everything went right to a year where things didn’t go right. When things don’t go right, I’m sure everything gets looked at. I’m not naive. That being said, this is the place I want to be was New York City, the New York Rangers. It’s a great organization, great city, great family…”
“It’s just tough right now, everybody’s faced with disappointment. Everybody I just mentioned is faced with disappointment today and I get that. There’s always things that are looked at.”
Nothing is confirmed yet, but it appears as if the writing is on the wall for Laviolette and his time in New York.
The word around Laviolette’s future has been kept under wraps at least for now. However, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun believes that Laviolette will ultimately be relieved of his duties.
“I can tell you that there’s absolutely no word out of the Rangers, themselves,” LeBrun said. “Very tight-lipped about what might transpire here over the next week, or so. But in talking to other people around the League, the low-hanging fruit, the expectations from a lot of people I’ve talked to is that Peter Laviolette could get fired.
“He’s got another year on his deal, so certainly not a sure thing. But when you look at the body language and the performance of the team over the last month, again, when I’ve talked to other people around the League, that’s probably the easiest conclusion, and so, we’ll see whether or not that happens.”
The Rangers have two games remaining with so many questions still left unanswered about what the team’s future will look like.
Read the full article here