3 reasons why Peter Laviolette failed with New York Rangers

By Jackson Weber

Modified Apr 19, 2025 18:02 GMT

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As many around the hockey world were anticipating, the New York Rangers have officially fired head coach Peter Laviolette.

Sportsnet shared the news on X (formerly Twitter).

After completing just his second season in the Big Apple, Laviolette was under heavy scrutiny for the team's underachievement in 2024-25. He led the Rangers to the Presidents' Trophy in 2023-24 and then came two wins away from making it to the Stanley Cup Final. However, it all went wrong this year.

Despite a strong record to start the season, the team was not playing well, and it began to creep into the results. From November 21 onwards, New York went 27-32-6, plummeting down the standings en route to missing the playoffs. The Rangers cemented themselves in NHL history for all the wrong reasons, becoming just the fourth team ever to win the Presidents' Trophy and not qualify for the postseason the following year.

It was a drastic downfall that nobody could have predicted. So, let's dive into the three main reasons why Peter Laviolette failed this season and was ultimately fired by the New York Rangers.

3 reasons why Peter Laviolette was fired by the New York Rangers

#1. Loss of the locker room

First off, it became very clear that he lost the locker room. The worst thing that can happen to a coach is the players tuning you out. There were several critical games throughout the season where the Rangers came out flat or just didn't show up at all, and that's on the head coach.

It became evident that Peter Laviolette knew he was losing the room, particularly when he said this after losing a must-win game 5-1 to Tampa Bay on home ice.

"I don't have a message right now. I don't go into the locker room after the game," Laviolette said.

This type of disconnect between a coach and his players is the first sign of an eventual parting of ways.

#2. Misuse of young players

It was an issue before Laviolette arrived, and it continued to be an issue under his lead. The New York Rangers just have not figured out how to develop their young players and prospects. Their 2020 first overall pick, Alexis Lafreniere, notably had a very slow start to his career. However, he broke out in a big way in year one under Peter Laviolette, just to fall back to his old ways this season.

And then there's Kaapo Kakko. The Rangers' second overall pick from the 2019 draft never seemed to work in New York and voiced his frustrations after being a healthy scratch while the team was struggling in December. Kakko called out his coach, saying, 'I think it's just easy to pick a young guy and boot him out.' He was traded to Seattle days later and has flourished in his time thus far with the Kraken.

#3. On-ice results failed to meet high expectations

The New York Rangers had expectations of winning the Stanley Cup in 2024-25. So when you fail to even qualify for the postseason, change is inevitable. It's a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league, and the scapegoat often ends up being the head coach, as it's the easiest move to make.

Peter Laviolette had a roster full of superstars like Artemi Panarin, Adam Fox, Igor Shesterkin, and trade deadline acquisition J.T. Miller. But they massively underperformed, and it resulted in him losing his job.