Gerard Gallant, Rangers Part Ways After 1st-Round NHL Playoff Loss to Devils

Gerard Gallant's tenure as head coach of the New York Rangers has ended after two seasons.

The Rangers announced a mutual parting of ways with Gallant on Saturday following the team's first-round playoff loss to the New Jersey Devils.

TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported Gallant still had one more guaranteed year plus a team option remaining on his contract. LeBrun also speculated the 59-year-old wants to continue coaching.

Gallant's move away from the Rangers means all three Jack Adams Award finalists from 2022 (Gallant, Darryl Sutter and Andrew Brunette) are now no longer coaching the clubs they helmed a year ago:

Gallant was hired by the Rangers in June 2021 after David Quinn was fired for missing the playoffs in two of his three seasons.

The addition of Gallant sparked an immediate turnaround for New York. Its 110 points during the 2021-22 season were the third-most in franchise history.

The Rangers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes to reach the Eastern Conference Final for the first time since 2015, but they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.

With high expectations coming into the 2022-23 campaign, Gallant led the Rangers to 107 points during the regular season and a second consecutive playoff berth. They won the first two games against the Devils by identical 5-1 scores before losing four of the final five games.

The Rangers were shut out 4-0 in their Game 7 loss at the Prudential Center. It was the second time in three games they failed to score a goal against the Devils.

Gallant became the first Rangers coach to have back-to-back seasons with at least 100 points since Alain Vigneault did it in three consecutive years from 2014-15 to 2016-17. His .662 points percentage is the second-best success rate in franchise history.

Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko are the key free agents for New York this offseason. Even if the team has to lose one or both of them for cap reasons, this roster is still good enough to be among the top tier of Eastern Conference teams in 2023-24.