The New York Rangers are veering off track on what was supposed to be an exciting NHL season. Coming into the campaign with sky-high expectations, the Rangers have been very underwhelming and are sitting near the bottom of the Metro Division. Frustration is mounting in Manhattan and it may have reached a boiling point after Peter Laviolette was confronted by third-liner Kaapo Kakko.
After being scratched for the Rangers’ matchup against the St. Louis Blues, Kakko came out swinging at Laviolette and the coaching staff, claiming he was unfairly blamed and thrown under the bus for the team’s collective shortcomings.
Laviolette is skating on thin ice as the Rangers have lost ten of their past thirteen games, and Kakko has publicly criticized his decisions. The rest of the team could soon follow Kakko’s lead in defying their coach’s authority. To address the issue, Laviolette has sent a strong message to Kakko, along with a warning to the rest of the squad.
“There’s been older players who have sat out as well. The decisions that I make, they’re tough decisions,” Laviolette stated, via lohud. “Our team, Kaapo, our team — we need to play better. We’re 3-10 in our 13 games and that’s not good enough. We need to play a better brand of hockey, all of us.”
Head coach Peter Laviolette of the New York Rangers handles the bench against the New York Islanders during the 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union Stadium Series game at MetLife Stadium on February 18, 2024 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Forwards Reilly Smith and Jimmy Vesey were recently scratched in an effort to lit a fire under the Rangers. Laviolette referenced those instances to refute Kakko’s claim that he was benched because “it’s just easy to pick a young guy and boot him out.”
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Kakko’s statement
As the New York Rangers wrapped up their morning skate ahead of their Dec. 17 matchup with the Nashville Predators, Kaapo Kakko delivered a stern message to the coaches upon returning to the lineup after being scratched for the game against the Blues.
“I have not been the worst guy, but that was me out of the lineup,” Kakko candidly stated, via Mollie Walker of The New York Post. “Haven’t been on the ice too much when [opponents] score a goal. I was surprised, yeah. I know you got to do something as a coach when you’re losing games, but I think it’s just easy to pick a young guy and boot him out. That’s how I feel, to be honest.”
Must-win game among the tension
While the locker room in New York is stunned, the Rangers must face the bottom-feeding Nashville Predators. Both teams are desperate for a win, and coaches Peter Laviolette and Andrew Brunette are under the scope as their seats heat up following catastrophic starts to their seasons.
Rangers right wing Kaapo Kakko (24) in game action during the NHL game between the New-York Rangers and the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada.
“There’s got to be more from our team, in general – from the players you mentioned, from myself, from everybody,” Laviolette said. “We’re either going to accept where we’re at, or we’re going to fight like hell to make a difference and move out of this. That’s the only way that we’re going to get there. There’s got to be more fight to what we’re doing.“
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Though the pressure for immediate results is evident and his position as Rangers head coach is at stake with every loss, Laviolette is more focused on tonight’s game than on his job security.
“Those are things that I can’t control. I’ve been in this a long time. There’s always those conversations wherever you go, especially if you’ve been in it for a long time. My real concern is getting a win tonight, getting back on track, getting back into the playoff race.”
