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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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List Of New York Rangers Head Coaches

The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in Manhattan, New York. They are members of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1926 as an expansion franchise, and are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six. The Rangers were the first NHL franchise in the United States to win the Stanley Cup, which they have done four times (most recently in 1994). The team is commonly referred to by its famous nickname, "The Broadway Blueshirts", or more commonly in New York media, as simply the "Blueshirts".

There have been thirty-seven head coaches for the Rangers, the first one being Lester Patrick, and the most recent and current coach being Peter Laviolette. Muzz Patrick, Alfred Pike, and Ron Smith are the only coaches who spent their entire careers with the Rangers and were not elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Bernie Geoffrion, Lynn Patrick, Emile Francis, Glen Sather, Craig Patrick, Roger Neilson, Herb Brooks, and Fred Shero have all been inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Lester Patrick, Frank Boucher, Colin Campbell, Neil Colville, Bill Cook, Phil Esposito, Doug Harvey, and Bryan Trottier have all coached the Rangers for their entire coaching careers and have been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Emile Francis has coached the most regular season games, 654, and the most playoff games, 75, in franchise history. Emile Francis also holds the franchise records in regular season wins, 342, and playoff wins, 34. Mike Keenan, the twenty-fifth head coach of the Rangers, amassed the best points percentage, .667, and regular season winning percentage, .619, having done so in a single, 84-game season. Keenan is also the only head coach to have coached the Rangers to a Presidents' Trophy and Stanley Cup in the same season. Lester Patrick is the only head coach to have coached the Rangers to multiple Stanley Cups. Under head coach Peter Laviolette the Rangers set franchise records in wins (55) and points (114) in a single season, having set both records in the 2023–24 season. The Jack Adams Award has never been awarded to the head coach of the New York Rangers.

Key

# Number of coaches
GC Games coached
W Wins
L Losses
T Ties (applicable until the 2003–04 NHL season)
OTL Overtime/shootout losses (shootouts applicable since the 2005–06 NHL season)
P% Points percentage
W% Winning percentage
* Elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Spent entire professional head coaching career with the Rangers.
*† Elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame and spent entire professional head coaching career with the Rangers.

Coaches

Lester Patrick, the first coach of the Rangers, coached the team his entire career and was inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Note: Statistics are correct through the 2023–24 season.

# Name Term Regular season Playoffs Achievements Note
GC W L T OTL P% GC W L T
1 Lester Patrick*† 19261939 604 281 216 107 .554 65 31 26 8 Stanley Cup champions (1928, 1933)
2 Frank Boucher*† 19391948 487 167 243 77 .422 27 13 14 0 Stanley Cup champions (1940)
3 Lynn Patrick* 19481950 107 40 51 16 .449 12 7 5 0  
4 Neil Colville*† 19501951 93 26 41 26 .419  
5 Bill Cook*† 19511953 117 34 59 24 .393  
Frank Boucher*† 1953–1954 40 14 20 6 .425  
6 Muzz Patrick 19541955 100 32 46 22 .430  
7 Phil Watson 19551959 295 119 124 52 .492 16 4 12  
Muzz Patrick† 1959 2 0 1 1 .250  
8 Alfred Pike 19591961 123 36 66 21 .378  
9 Doug Harvey*† 1961–1962 70 26 32 12 .457 6 2 4  
Muzz Patrick† 1962 34 11 19 4 .382  
10 Red Sullivan 19621965 196 58 103 35 .385  
11 Emile Francis* 19651968 194 82 82 30 .500 10 2 8  
12 Bernie Geoffrion* 1968–1969 43 22 18 3 .547  
Emile Francis* 19691973 343 201 88 54 .665 49 24 25  
13 Larry Popein 1973–1974 41 18 14 9 .549  
Emile Francis* 19741975 117 59 39 19 .585 16 8 8  
14 Ron Stewart 1975–1976 39 15 20 4 .436  
15 John Ferguson, Sr. 19761977 121 43 59 19 .434  
16 Jean-Guy Talbot 1977–1978 80 30 37 13 .456 3 1 2  
17 Fred Shero* 19781980 180 82 74 24 .522 27 15 12  
18 Craig Patrick* 1980–1981 60 26 23 11 .525 14 7 7  
19 Herb Brooks* 19811985 285 131 113 41 .532 24 12 12  
Craig Patrick* 1985 35 11 22 2 .343 3 0 3  
20 Ted Sator 19851986 99 41 48 10 .465 16 8 8  
21 Tom Webster 1986–1987 16 5 7 4 .438  
22 Phil Esposito*† 1987 43 24 19 0 .558 6 2 4  
23 Michel Bergeron 19871989 158 73 67 18 .519  
Phil Esposito*† 1989 2 0 2 0 .000 4 0 4  
24 Roger Neilson* 19891993 280 141 104 35 .566 29 13 16 Presidents' Trophy (1992)
25 Ron Smith 1993 44 15 22 7 .420  
26 Mike Keenan 1993–1994 84 52 24 8 .667 23 16 7 Presidents' Trophy (1994)
Stanley Cup champions (1994)
27 Colin Campbell*† 19941998 269 118 108 43 .519 36 18 18  
28 John Muckler 19982000 185 70 88 24 3 .451  
29 John Tortorella 2000 4 0 3 1 .125  
30 Ron Low 20002002 164 69 81 9 5 .463  
31 Bryan Trottier*† 2002–2003 54 21 26 6 1 .454  
32 Glen Sather* 20032004 90 33 39 11 7 .572  
33 Tom Renney 20042009 327 164 117 46 .572 24 11 13  
John Tortorella 20092013 315 171 115 29 .589 44 19 25  
34 Alain Vigneault 20132018 410 226 147 37 .596 61 31 30 Presidents' Trophy (2015)
35 David Quinn 20182021 208 96 87 25 .522 3 0 3  
36 Gerard Gallant 20212023 164 99 46 19 .662 27 13 14  
37 Peter Laviolette 2023–present 82 55 23 4 .695 16 10 6 Presidents' Trophy (2024)

See also