New York Rangers

The New York Rangers don't intend to interview Patrick Roy as part of their coaching search, according to the New York Post's Mollie Walker.

"John Hynes and Peter Laviolette remain the front-runners for the open job behind the Blueshirts bench," Walker reported.

Roy is widely considered one of the greatest goaltenders ever. He was a three-time Vezina Trophy winner and lifted the Stanley Cup on four occasions.

The 57-year-old made the transition to coaching in 2013-14 and guided the Colorado Avalanche to the playoffs in his first season. He unexpectedly resigned as head coach and vice president of hockey operations in August 2016.

The full circumstances behind Roy's departure aren't known. At the time, he cited philosophical differences between himself and other Avs officials.

The Hall of Famer hasn't coached in the NHL since then, with Walker speculating teams might be concerned history would repeat itself in terms of how his Colorado tenure ended.

Roy is fresh off leading the QMJHL's Quebec Remparts to a Memorial Cup triumph, though, which helped to rebuild his stock a bit. The head coach and GM indicated the 2022-23 season would be his last behind the bench for the organization.

It was easy to connect the dots and see how Roy might be preparing for a return to the NHL. Leaving the Remparts would give him the freedom to pursue any new opportunities.

Larry Brooks of the New York Post argued why his presence would greatly benefit the Rangers, who moved on from Gerard Gallant after just two seasons. New York lost to the New Jersey Devils in the first round of the playoffs after getting to the conference final in 2022.

Based on Walker's report, the Rangers don't see Roy as a serious candidate, however, so his comeback won't be unfolding in the Big Apple.

New Jersey's MetLife Stadium has played host to some pretty big events over the years, but it has never hosted an outdoor NHL game.

That's going to change next year.

The New York Rangers, New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers will participate in the 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium in February, the league announced Saturday.

The Devils will play the Flyers on Feb. 17 before a New York rivalry showdown between the Rangers and Islanders on Feb. 18.

NHL executive vice president and chief content editor Steve Mayer said Saturday:

"We had always wanted to go back to play a game a MetLife Stadium. It's always been an interest of ours. MetLife is an extremely difficult place to think about doing a Winter Classic because of the two NFL teams that are in that building, the Jets and the Giants. So we also had been talking to them on and off and been interested for a long time.

"There's been many iterations of what we wanted to do here, but when we started getting into the matchups, the game, the tri-state area and the great hockey that right now is being played in the New York area, we felt like, 'Wouldn't this be unique and different?' And always trying to keep the Stadium Series and all our outdoor games fresh and the ideas fresh, wouldn't it be great to go with a doubleheader?"

The Devils-Flyers matchup is slated to be a night game, Mayer said. The timing for the Rangers-Islanders tilt has yet to be determined. Both games will be broadcasted on ESPN.

There are now four outdoor games scheduled for the 2023-24 season.

The Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers will compete in the 2023 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton on Oct. 29, and the Vegas Golden Knights will take on the Seattle Kraken in the 2024 Discover NHL Winter Classic at T-Mobile Park in Seattle on Jan. 1.

The NHL has hosted a total of 37 regular-season outdoor games in what has become an annual tradition for the league.

The four teams competing in the 2024 Stadium Series are no stranger to taking their talents outdoors.

The Flyers, along with the Boston Bruins, have played the second-most outdoor games in the NHL with five appearances. The Flyers most recently played outdoors against the Bruins in 2021 at Lake Tahoe.

The Rangers have played four outdoor games, the most recent being the 2018 Winter Classic against the Buffalo Sabres at Citi Field.

The Devils and Islanders have each played outdoors once. They both lost to the Rangers in the 2014 Stadium Series at Yankee Stadium.

The Rangers, Islanders and Devils all reached the playoffs during the 2022-23 season. While The Flyers are more in a rebuilding phase, the team still boasts one of the more popular markets in the NHL.

Given the location of the event and the teams competing, the 2023 Stadium Series should be a hit.

Patrick Kane will be recovering for an expected four to six months after he underwent hip resurfacing surgery Thursday, per Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

That timeline means Kane could be ready to play at the start of the 2023-24 season. Kane's agent, Pat Brisson, said the 34-year-old "wants to play for a long time," Friedman reported.

Kane, an impending unrestricted free agent, was traded to the New York Rangers in February on the final season of an eight-year, $84 million contract with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Kane's potential absence for the first two months of next season could add a wrinkle to negotiations for the future Hall of Famer's next contract.

The last time Kane penned a deal, he was coming off championship wins in 2010 and 2013. At a $10.5 million average annual value, his eight-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks marked the most expensive contract in NHL history when it began in 2015-16, just after Kane and the Blackhawks celebrated their third title in five seasons.

Eight years later, both Kane's play and his earning potential look different.

The star winger turns 35 in November and finished last season with 57 points, a full-season career low. He is still a prolific scorer—Kane recorded his 15th 20-goal campaign despite the mid-season move—but is a slower skater and drives possession less regularly. During the Rangers' disappointing first-round exit, he was held to just one goal in seven games against the New Jersey Devils.

Kane's former teammate Jonathan Toews, whose matching deal with Kane also expires this offseason, is considering retirement due to ongoing health issues. Kane, however, wants to keep playing.

Kane said before last season's trade deadline that he wants to play with the Rangers. New York, a team in the midst of a search for a new head coach, must decide if it is worth working out a new deal with the star winger, even given his nebulous start date for next season.

John Hynes will be in search of a new job this offseason after being fired as head coach of the Nashville Predators on Tuesday, but he will reportedly be in the mix for another franchise's head coaching search.

According to The Athletic's Arthur Staple, Hynes is among the candidates being considered by the New York Rangers.

The Rangers are seeking a replacement for Gerard Gallant, who mutually agreed to part ways with the team this month after being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the rival New Jersey Devils in seven games. New York went 99-46-19 in two seasons under Gallant, placing third in the Metropolitan Division this year with a record of 47-22-13.

The series loss to the Devils, which came after the Rangers had won the first two games, was even more disappointing after the massive expectations New York faced entering the postseason.

The team had acquired star wingers Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko at the trade deadline this season in hopes of making a deep playoff run following last year's trip to the Eastern Conference Final. Both Kane and Tarasenko will be unrestricted free agents this summer.

Hynes, who was replaced by former Florida Panthers interim coach Andrew Brunette on Tuesday, had coached the Predators for a little over three seasons after being hired midway through the 2019-20 campaign.

Nashville had a record of 134-95-18 during Hynes' tenure and never finished higher than fourth place in the Central Division. The team failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2013-14 after going 42-31-8 this season.

Despite a disappointing run in Nashville, Hynes could have an inside track to securing the Rangers' position. Staple pointed out that the 48-year-old is a former college teammate of Rangers general manager Chris Drury.

The jersey Wayne Gretzky wore in his final NHL game is up for auction.

Per the official listing from Grey Flannel Auctions, the No. 99 New York Rangers jersey was worn by the Hall of Famer on April 18, 1999.

The jersey has been signed by Gretzky and inscribed with the date of his final game. It includes a letter of authenticity from former Rangers senior vice president of public relations John Rosasco.

It was one of four jerseys Gretzky wore during the game. He had a different one for warm-ups and all three periods. The jersey he used in the third period is currently in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

"Probably, subconsciously, I don't want to take it off," Gretzky told reporters after the game about still wearing his jersey during his postgame press conference. "I'm not going to pull it on ever again. It's hard. It's hard to take it off right now. I have to be honest with you. I don't want to take it off."

Bidding opened at $50,000 and will be open until June 11 at 10 p.m. ET.

Gretzky recorded the final point of his legendary career in the game with a second-period assist on Brian Leetch's power-play goal. His 2,857 points are still the most in NHL history by a significant margin. Jaromír Jágr is second with 1,921 points.

The Rangers signed Gretzky as a free agent in July 1996, reuniting him with Mark Messier after the two icons played together for nine seasons with the Edmonton Oilers from 1979 to 1988.

Their reunion only lasted one season when Messier signed with the Vancouver Canucks in free agency, but it was a terrific year for the Rangers. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals before losing to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Gretzky, even in the final stages of his career, was still a force on the ice. He tied for the league lead in assists in each of his first two seasons with the Rangers.

The NHL retired Gretzky's No. 99 leaguewide at the 2000 All-Star Game. The Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee and board of directors waived the traditional three-year waiting period to induct him as part of the 1999 class immediately after his retirement.

The New York Rangers are in the market for a new head coach this summer after firing Gerard Gallant following a first-round exit in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs earlier this month.

However, it appears one potential candidate's name can be crossed off the list in Pittsburgh Penguins bench boss Mike Sullivan, who told Mollie Walker of the New York Post that he is all-in on staying with the Black and Gold.

"No, I am under contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins, here for the long haul," Sullivan said over the phone.

The Rangers announced May 6 that they had "mutually" agreed to part ways with Gallant after the Blueshirts blew a 2-0 series lead to the New Jersey Devils before being eliminated from title contention with a 4-0 loss in Game 7.

Gallant was hired as head coach of the Rangers ahead of the 2021-22 season, replacing David Quinn.

During Gallant's two seasons at the helm, New York went 99-46-19. In addition to reaching the playoffs this year, the Rangers made it to the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals before being eliminated by the Tampa Bay Lightning. It marked the team's deepest postseason run since the 2014-15 campaign.

Sullivan had been mentioned as a potential head coaching candidate for the Rangers given his deep ties to the organization. New York selected the Massachusetts native in the fourth round of the 1987 NHL draft, though he never appeared in a game for the franchise. He also served as an assistant for the Rangers from 2009-2013.

The 55-year-old served as head coach of his hometown Boston Bruins from 2003-2006. He was also an assistant for the Lightning and Vancouver Canucks before being hired by the Penguins as head coach of their American Hockey League affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in June 2015.

Sullivan was promoted to head coach of the Penguins in December 2015. He has guided the franchise to a 337-187-65 record, seven playoff appearances and two Stanley Cup titles in his eight seasons.

Sullivan's status as head coach of the Penguins was put into question after the franchise finished the 2022-23 season with a 40-31-11 record, missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2005-06 season.

It was made clear that Sullivan would remain head coach of the Penguins in 2023-24 after the franchise announced in April that general manager Ron Hextall, assistant general manager Chris Pryor and president of hockey operations Brian Burke had been relieved of their duties.

John Henry and Tom Werner of Fenway Sports Group said in a statement at the time that Sullivan would "assist during the transition."

Sullivan is under contract with the Penguins through the 2026-27 season. He signed a three-year extension with the franchise in August.

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.