Gerard Gallant was hired as New York Rangers head coach in 2021 after an organizational housecleaning directed at winning now.
Two seasons into the job, the Rangers have mutually agreed to part ways with Gallant, the coach who oversaw a run to the Eastern Conference final last season and a disappointing first-round exit in these playoffs.
Despite entering the postseason as the third-place finisher in the Metropolitan Division, the 107-point Rangers faced sky-high expectations because of their all-in moves around the trade deadline.
New York acquired top-line winger Vladimir Tarasenko and depth defenseman Niko Mikkola from the St. Louis Blues and fourth-line forward Tyler Motte from the Ottawa Senators, but general manager Chris Drury also swung big for future Hall of Famer Patrick Kane after the former Chicago Blackhawks star essentially used the leverage of a no-movement clause to dictate a trade to Broadway. With that came a unique set of roster management maneuvers in the name of creating cap space: scratching players to ice less than the maximum amount and then having to play short again when dealing with injuries because they didn’t have enough cap space to recall anyone.It’s clear owner James Dolan wants to win and do it now, with the Rangers not having hoisted the Stanley Cup since 1994. Dolan fired then-president John Davidson and GM Jeff Gorton — both conducting a rebuild that was by all intents and purposes going well — in May 2021. He named Drury, formerly the assistant GM, the general manager and president.Finally, spring training is here, and we now have player updates on some of our favorites. Up until you learn that one of your favorite players was hurt in a needless act of violence, it should be a positive experience overall. Shortstop prospect Thairo Estrada was shot in the right hip last week during a heist, the new Yankees manager revealed to the media today.
The incident happened in Venezuela, his native country, and the bullet is rumored to still be embedded in his flesh. Taking everything into account, both the Yankees organization and the 21-year-old seem hopeful about his prospects of playing this season. Estrada continues to arrive on schedule for spring training, even though
