The New York Rangers playoff hopes are close to done, and now their Head Coach has made a shock decision by scratching young star Gabe Perreault.
After a rollercoaster of a season, the New York Rangers find themselves in must-win mode down the stretch, but even if they go undefeated, they're still in danger of missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
However, the injection of youth to this lineup down the stretch has helped them in a big way, with the likes of Gabe Perreault, Brennan Othmann and Brett Berard have given them key minutes in recent weeks.
Now, Head Coach Peter Laviolette has made the shocking call to scratch Perreault, who had just arrived from the Boston College Eagles, despite flashing immense potential early in his Rangers run.
On the surface, it may not be the worst move this team has made, but given that the veterans have struggled just as much as anyone this season, it's a move that's drawn plenty of criticism for Head Coach Laviolette.
What makes it worse is that if the team don't make the post-season, which is highly likely at this point, Laviolette is more likely than not to be fired over the summer, so they have potentially burned a year of Perreault's ELC and messed him around all by a coach that is likely to be fired in the summer.
Sure, Perreault hasn't scored in three games for the Rangers thus far, but at 19-years of age he brings them plenty of energy, youth and enthusiasm, and given the way that this team treated the likes of Filip Chytil and Kappo Kaako, as well as the poor development of Alexis Lafreniere, it seems that this is a problem organization wide.
-1741099233-q80.webp "New Favorite Emerges For Myles Garrett Amid Trade Discussions")
-1738805915-q80.webp "Insider: Broncos Facing Potential Contract Dilemma with Courtland Sutton")