List of New York Rangers head coaches

Glen Sather, the previous coach of the Rangers, was replaced after his retirement.

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,^[1] which they have done four times (most recently in 1994).^[2] The team is commonly referred to by its famous nickname, "The Broadway Blueshirts", or more commonly in New York media, as simply the "Blueshirts".^[3]

There have been thirty-four head coaches for the Rangers, the first one being Lester Patrick, and the current one being Alain Vigneault.^[4][5] Muzz Patrick, Alfred Pike, Ron Smith, and Colin Campbell are the only coaches who spent their entire careers with the Rangers and were not elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.^[6][7][8][9] Lynn Patrick, Emile Francis, Craig Patrick, Herb Brooks, Roger Neilson, and Glen Sather have been inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame.^{[10][11][12][13][14][15]} Lester Patrick, Frank Boucher, 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.^{[4][16][17][18][19][20][21]} Phil Esposito, who coached two games of the 1988–89 season and didn't win a game, holds the worst winning record.^[19] The Rangers, who made it to the playoffs that year, lost all four games in the first round.^[19] Mike Keenan, the twenty-fifth coach of the Rangers, holds the best winning percentage of .667.^[22] In the 1993–94 season, he led the Rangers to a Stanley Cup championship.^[22] Both Lester Patrick and Emile Francis have the most playoff games coached, 65, and most playoff wins, 32.

Key

#	Number of coaches^[A]
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)
Win%	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

Note: Statistics are correct through the 2015-16 season.

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

#	Name	Term	Regular season						Playoffs				Achievements	Note
			GC	W	L	T	OTL	Win%	GC	W	L	T/OT
1	Lester Patrick*†	1926–1939	604	281	206	107	–	.554	65	32	26	7	Stanley Cup Champions (1928, 1933)	[4]
2	Frank Boucher*†	1939–1948	487	167	243	77	–	.422	27	13	14	0	Stanley Cup Champions (1940)	[16]
3	Lynn Patrick*	1948–1950	107	40	51	16	–	.449	12	7	5	0		[10]
4	Neil Colville*†	1950–1951	93	26	41	26	–	.419	–	–	–	–		[17]
5	Bill Cook*†	1951–1953	117	34	59	24	–	.393	–	–	–	–		[18]
–	Frank Boucher*†	1953–1954	40	14	20	6	–	.425	–	–	–	–		[16]
6	Muzz Patrick†	1954–1955	100	32	46	22	–	.430	–	–	–	–		[6]
7	Phil Watson	1955–1959	295	119	124	52	–	.492	16	4	12	0		[23]
–	Muzz Patrick†	1959	2	0	1	1	–	.500	–	–	–	–		[6]
8	Alfred Pike†	1959–1961	123	36	66	21	–	.378	–	–	–	–		[7]
9	Doug Harvey*†	1961–1962	70	26	32	12	–	.457	6	2	4	0		[20]
–	Muzz Patrick†	1962	34	11	19	4	–	.382	–	–	–	–		[6]
10	George Sullivan	1962–1965	196	58	103	35	–	.385	–	–	–	–		[24]
11	Emile Francis*	1965–1968	194	82	82	30	–	.500	10	2	8	0		[11]
12	Bernie Geoffrion	1968–1969	43	22	18	3	–	.547	–	–	–	–		[25]
–	Emile Francis*	1969–1973	353	201	188	54	–	.443	49	24	25	0		[11]
13	Larry Popein†	1973–1974	41	18	14	9	–	.549	–	–	–	–		[26]
–	Emile Francis*	1974–1975	107	59	39	19	–	.661	16	8	8	0		[11]
14	Ron Stewart	1975–1976	39	15	20	4	–	.436	–	–	–	–		[27]
15	John Ferguson, Sr.	1976–1977	121	43	59	19	–	.434	–	–	–	–		[28]
16	Jean-Guy Talbot	1977–1978	80	30	37	13	–	.456	3	1	2	0		[29]
17	Fred Shero	1978–1980	180	82	74	24	–	.522	27	15	12	0		[30]
18	Craig Patrick*	1980–1981	60	26	23	11	–	.525	14	7	7	0		[12]
19	Herb Brooks*	1981–1985	285	131	113	41	–	.532	24	12	12	0		[13]
–	Craig Patrick*	1985	35	11	22	2	–	.343	3	0	3	0		[12]
20	Ted Sator	1985–1986	99	41	48	10	–	.465	16	8	8	0		[31]
21	Tom Webster	1986–1987	18	5	9	4	–	.389	–	–	–	–		[32]
22	Phil Esposito*†	1987	43	24	19	0	–	.558	6	2	4	0		[19]
23	Michel Bergeron	1987–1989	158	73	67	18	–	.519	–	–	–	–		[33]
–	Phil Esposito*†	1989	2	0	2	0	–	.000	4	0	4	0		[19]
24	Roger Neilson*	1989–1993	280	141	104	35	–	.566	29	13	16	0	Presidents' Trophy (1992)	[14]
25	Ron Smith†	1993	44	15	22	7	–	.420	–	–	–	–		[8]
26	Mike Keenan	1993–1994	84	52	24	8	–	.667	23	16	7	0	Presidents' Trophy (1994) Stanley Cup Champions (1994)	[22]
27	Colin Campbell†	1994–1998	269	118	108	43	–	.519	36	18	18	0		[9]
28	John Muckler	1998–2000	185	70	91	24	3	.443	–	–	–	–		[34]
29	John Tortorella	2000	4	0	3	1	–	.125	–	–	–	–		[5]
30	Ron Low	2000–2002	164	69	86	9	5	.448	–	–	–	–		[35]
31	Bryan Trottier*†	2002–2003	54	21	27	6	1	.454	–	–	–	–		[21]
32	Glen Sather*	2003–2004	90	33	46	11	7	.428	–	–	–	–		[15]
33	Tom Renney	2004–2009	327	164	117	–	46	.572	24	11	13	0		[36]
34	John Tortorella	2009–2013	315	171	115	–	29	.589	40	18	22	0		[5]
35	Alain Vigneault	2013–Present	246	144	80	–	22	.630	49	25	24	0	Presidents' Trophy (2015)	[37]

See also

• List of NHL head coaches

Notes

• ^A A running total of the number of coaches of the New York Rangers. Thus any coach who has two or more separate terms as head coach is only counted once.

References

1. Anderson, Dave. "At Boston Garden, There's Much More Gold Than Green", New York Times, 1995-05-14. Retrieved on 2008-06-17.
2. Vecsey, George. "Houston Finally Has An Edge", New York Times, 1994-06-24. Retrieved on 2008-06-17.
3. Stein, Michael. "New York Rangers: The Baby Broadway Blueshirts". /bleacherreport.com. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
4. "Lester Patrick". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
5. "John Tortorella". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
6. "Muzz Patrick". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
7. "Alf Pike". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
8. "Ron Smith". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
9. "Colin Campbell". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
10. "Lynn Patrick". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
11. "Emile Francis". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
12. "Craig Patrick". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
13. "Herb Brooks". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
14. "Roger Neilson". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
15. "Glen Sather". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
16. "Frank Boucher". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
17. "Neil Colville". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
18. "Bill Cook". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
19. "Phil Esposito". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
20. "Doug Harvey". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
21. "Bryan Trottier". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
22. "Mike Keenan". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
23. "Phil Watson". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
24. "George Sullivan". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
25. "Bernie Geoffrion". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
26. "Larry Popein". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
27. "Ron Stewart". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
28. "John Ferguson, Sr.". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
29. "Jean-Guy Talbot". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
30. "Fred Shero". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
31. "Ted Sator". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
32. "Tom Webster". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
33. "Michel Bergeron". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
34. "John Muckler". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
35. "Ron Low". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
36. "Tom Renney". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
37. "Alain Vigneault". Hockey-Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2013-06-16.