The Rangers didn’t wait for their annual Palm Springs Summit to start making moves this offseason.
With the organizational meeting, usually set at president Glen Sather’s western hub of operations, coming up soon, the franchise fired Ken Gernander as the coach of AHL Hartford after the Wolf Pack’s last-place finish this past season. It was Gernander’s 10th season behind the bench after eight as a player and captain and two as an assistant coach.
With the organizational meeting usually set at president Glen Sather’s western hub of operations coming sometime relatively soon, the franchise fired Ken Gernander as the coach of AHL Hartford after a last-place finish for the Wolf Pack this past season. It was Gernander’s 10th season behind the bench after eight as a player and captain and two as an assistant coach. Rangers brass decided his tenure had run its course.
“We want to thank Ken for his service and all of his contributions to the Wolf Pack and the Rangers organization,” general manager Jeff Gorton said in a statement. “We wish him and his family all the best in his future endeavors.”
It also was announced that Chris Drury would add the title of Wolf Pack GM to his current role as Rangers assistant GM. Jim Schoenfeld will leave that role in Hartford to focus just on the goings-on in New York.
It was a natural progression for the 40-year-old Drury, who very quickly has moved up the ranks in the organization — as well as in the eyes of the league — since retiring as a Rangers player in 2011 and being hired as director of player personnel in Sept. 2015. He spent this past season as an assistant GM, and Gorton recently denied the Sabres the chance to interview Drury for their open GM job, eventually filled by Jason Botterill.
Drury — who also happens to be from Trumbull, Conn. — is now strapped with finding a new coach who can develop the Rangers’ prospect pool as they try to get younger with another retooling this offseason.
It likely wasn’t an easy decision to fire Gernander, who has his No. 12 retired by the Wolf Pack in 2005 after leading them to one Calder Cup championship in 2000. He is the franchise leader in games played (599) and playoff games played (78), while second all-time in goals (160), assists (187) and points (347). During that time, he played only 27 games for the Rangers.
He retired after the 2004-05 season, spent two seasons as an assistant under Schoenfeld and then took over as the headman for the 2007-08 season.
“I want to thank Ken for his tireless work and dedication to the Wolf Pack and the Rangers organization,” Schoenfeld said. “He represented the organization the right way, both on and off the ice. I have had the good fortune working closely with Kenny as a player, assistant coach, and head coach over the last 12 years and wish him all the best going forward.”