5/16/23 | Elliotte Friedman said on NHL Tonight that Peter Laviolette is on the radar for both the Rangers and Columbus.

5/12/23 | On Friday’s 32 Thoughts Podcast, Elliotte Friedman said:

• “I think Chris Drury believes that NHL coaching experience is going to be a huge part of this search. I always think that there is a chance that anything can change if you get blown away by someone, so I always keep that door open, but I do think that NHL coaching experience is high on their list.”

• “One name that got sent to me which I thought that was interesting, who would not fit that criteria, but was interesting enough that I checked, is Jay Pandolfo, who played 899 NHL games and was a very useful forward for a lot of years and a two-time Stanley Cup champion. He is coaching at BU and just had a really good year and a hell of a team next year, I kind of wondered if Pandolfo would be on the radar, but I’m told he is not pursuing NHL coaching opportunities at this time. I would like to strike that name.”

5/11/23 | On NHL Now on Thursday, Elliotte Friedman said the following about the Rangers and potential candidates:

• “I think Chris Drury is really putting together his list, his group. We’ve heard all the Mike Sullivan rumors. I believe this, I believe that Mike Sullivan is is the New York Rangers wet dream, but I don’t think that is happening. I just think he’s going to be in Pittsburgh.”

• “I think that Peter Laviolette makes a lot of sense to me.”
• Kris Knoblauch is a very interesting candidate because they know him, have seen what he can do there. My only question about the Rangers is…I just don’t know that the Rangers are going to hire…thier MO is not to hire someone for the first time. Their MO is to get someone who has coached somewhere before because they look at the size of their market, ownership forces and the makeup of their team, a lot of headstrong, star players who’ve got a lot of term. I just don’t know if I see them hiring a first time head coach. I could see Knoblauch maybe going somewhere else outside the NY organization, I don’t know if they will do that.”
• “Babcock, I think, is a guy who is interested, I think they have some interest in him. I think he’s an interesting name for them because…if you are complaining that their x’s and o’s weren’t good then I think Babcock is a guy who is really good at x’s and o’s. The question is, how do they feel about that, particularly with a young player like Lafreniere who they need to get to the next level. The one thing I really do think is that they are looking for a coach with NHL experience.”
• One guy I kind of wondered about, off the beat and path, was Jay Pandolfo. Even though he doesn’t fit the criteria I just mentioned, because I think Jay Pandolfo sooner or later is going to be at this level, but I’m told he’s not looking to pursue NHL opportunities at this time.”
• On Joel Quenneville’s status, “From what I heard, and this is second hand, I had heard that it was unlikely to change this coaching cycle. That may turn out to be untrue, but I just don’t think the Rangers…I think the Rangers and a lot of other teams that need coaches want to get on their searches and get an idea of who is available. I think that if they believe Quenneville would be potentially available that he would be on their list. I just think that right now there is no guarantee that he is going to be available, so why would you start going through your search with someone who you don’t think is going to be there. I think that is where this is right now. I kind of wonder if this kind of gets dealt with in the summer, one way or the other, I just don’t think the Rangers were going to know in a time they were comfortable with.”

5/10/23 | On the 32 Thoughts Podcast, Elliotte Friedman said:

• “There has been a lot of rumors about could the Rangers could get Mike Sullivan, is Mike Sullivan a realistic possibility here and I think that is the Rangers dream….I believe that the Rangers dream for coaching is Mike Sullivan. All these rumors coming out like, ‘what is the possibility of this, what is the possibility of that.’ I think that is the guy the Rangers would love to have. The problem is he just got an extension in Pittsburgh and basically they sided with Sullivan in a battle with Ron Hextall about personnel and things like that. One thing I’ve learned is that crazy stuff happens in sports, things happen and you’re like ‘holy smokes, I did not see that coming.’ As a matter of fact, you could say ‘holy smokes, I saw the exact opposite of that happening.’ Could it happen? Sure. I would be really shocked if it happened, I don’t see that. I don’t think Sullivan is necessarily available.”

• On Mike Babcock, “I do wonder if Babcock is on their radar. I think one of the things here is it’s hard to see the Rangers going new. It just doesn’t fit their MO. It doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t go new, it’s just that their MO is not to do that.
• “If Sullivan is not available, who else kind of fits the bill? Babcock is….Washington went pretty far down the road with him when they hired Peter Laviolette. I have some suspicion, although I am never going to find out, it’s not the kind of thing he’d ever admit, but I would think that Detroit at least thought about the possibility of it last year before they hired Derek Lalonde. I think teams have considered it, nobody has necessarily taken the step. I’m wondering how much the Rangers are going to consider this, I think he is someone who is on their radar.”
• On Patrick Roy, “It wouldn’t surprise me, Roy also has the personality to handle that. It would surprise me if he didn’t at least look at it, for sure.”