Rangers Rumors: Laviolette Could Be The Next To Go in New York

The New York Rangers continue their shocking implosion this season, dropping their 14th game in their last 18, a 6-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. They're now dead last (yes, you read that right) in the Metropolitan Division.

In his Sunday column in the New York Post, Rangers insider Larry Brooks says that head coach Peter Laviolette's days are undoubtedly numbered.

Column. Rangers have quit on Peter Laviolette — it will eventually cost him his job https://t.co/U8Ezzqlbg7
— Larry Brooks (@NYP_Brooksie) December 29, 2024

"The Rangers have quit on their coach, they have quit on the organization, they have quit on themselves, they have quit on each other, they have quit on the fans who pay top dollar to fill the Garden and they have quit on New York," was the bold-faced declaration made by Brooks. And it would hard to find anyone in Manhattan who disagrees.

After a run to the President's Trophy last season as the top team in the NHL's 2024-25 standings, the Rangers certainly had no expectations that half a season later Laviolette would have lost the room. But, as Brooks notes, "with tensions boiling inside the locker room and players seemingly unmotivated, it appears his time is running out.”

In truth, Brooks hammered the players more than the coach in his column, but we all know how this business goes. You can't trade the entire roster. Moving out Jacob Trouba and Kaapo Kakko certainly haven't been the answer.

Insider Elliotte Friedman has called this Rangers freefall "a historic collapse." On his 32 Thoughts Podcast, he emphasized that "nobody has better sources on the Ranges than Larry Brooks. Nobody.

"If he's writing that, he's getting that directly from someone who matters."

But Friedman also stood up for the Rangers coach, saying "Peter Laviolette's gotta be sitting here thinking, just like the rest of us, 'What on earth happened? How did we end up where we are?' And I'm sure he's as much at a loss for words as everyone else is."

Unfortunately, he's quite likely to soon be at a loss for employment, as well.