Rangers name Peter Laviolette as next head coach

The New York Rangers have named Peter Laviolette the franchise's 37th head coach.

According to TSN's Pierre LeBrun, the three-year deal will pay the 58-year-old a shade under $5-million per season. Laviolette most recently coached the Washington Capitals for three seasons before the club opted against renewing his contract this past April, with the two sides mutually agreeing to part ways.

Laviolette coached Washington to a 35-37-10 record this season, the club's worst record since 2006-07 — Alex Ovechkin's sophomore campaign — as the Capitals missed the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since the 2013-14 campaign.

The news follows months of speculation on who would succeed Gerard Gallant after a tumultuous conclusion to his time behind the Rangers bench. One of the most compelling names linked to the job was Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan, but the two-time Stanley Cup winner kiboshed those whispers last month by reaffirming his commitment to Pittsburgh.

Instead, it'll be Laviolette who takes over a Rangers squad reeling after failing to follow up on the promise of an Eastern Conference finals appearance in 2022. The Rangers also struggled mightily beneath the hood under the tutelage of Gallant, breaking below even with a 49.5 expected goals for percentage during the regular season, ranking 19th league-wide, and oftentimes finding themselves highly reliant on the sensational play of star netminder Igor Shesterkin.

That reliance was only further exacerbated during the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs when the club failed to take advantage of an early series lead and spectacular goaltending en route to a seven-game series loss to their Hudson River rival New Jersey Devils.

Laviolette will head to a Rangers side that seems poised to look a little different by the time September rolls around. Both of the club's marquee trade deadline pickups in Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko are pending UFAs and appear unlikely to re-up with the club, while key RFAs Alexis Lafreniere and K'Andre Miller will be due for raises this summer.