Peter Laviolette is Missing the Point
The Rangers are still pretending everything is OK. It's not, and what's worse is the head coach seems OK with pretending it's OK.
According to Mollie Walker of the New York Post, the song "Eye of the Tiger" was blasting out of the New York Rangers' locker room after their on-paper decisive 4-0 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.
‘Eye of the Tiger’ blasting out of the #NYR locker room again
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) November 10, 2024
I could not think of a worse song to play after a win like that.
It's clear that something is amiss with the Rangers, in a variety of ways. The team started off with a historically dominant stretch, lost a couple of games, and then got a complete lineup overhaul not seen since Peter Laviolette took over. I actually believe a major factor in Laviolette's success last year was him forcing the lineup to stay together despite their struggles. Not only did it allow Trocheck and Lafrenière to have career years, but until the special team wheels fell off in the Eastern Conference Finals the comfort and expectations were a big part of the team knowing what it took to win.
To also be clear, I am not asking for Laviolette to be fired. This isn't that story. But I think it's increasingly clear that Laviolette shook things up for the wrong reasons, and his refusal to return to what worked is starting to take a toll.
