Rangers coaching rumors: 5 replacements for Alain Vigneault
1. Bill Peters
With new ownership in place and four straight non-playoff seasons under him (eight straight non-playoff seasons for the franchise overall), Peters may be let go as Carolina Hurricanes’ coach. It is believed Peters has an out-clause in his contract, presumably due to the ownership situation having been in flux, which he reportedly has a week after the end of the season to exercise. Coaching under a new general manager in Carolina, with Ron Francis likely gone, automatically would put Peters on the hot seat heading into next season.
The surface results for the Hurricanes don’t look that good. But advanced numbers smile on them over the last four seasons, including score-adjusted Corsi (shot attempts percentage 5-on-5), score -adjusted expected goals percentage along with generating more high and mid-percentage scoring chances then they have given up. Quickly simply the Hurricanes have been undone under Peters by “puck luck” elements like shooting percentage and save percentage, which have been second-worst and worst respectively in the NHL since the 2014-15 season.
By comparison, the Rangers were bottom-five in the NHL in 5-on-5 Corsi-for percentage in each of the last two seasons. This season, there were last in that category, along with being dead-last in Corsi-against and expected goals against.
Over the last two seasons, Carolina rank 5th in the NHL in both score-adjusted Corsi and expected goals percentage. Give them a halfway decent goaltender and a couple of guys who can put the puck in the net and they're just about as good as anyone.
— Adam Herman (@AdamZHerman) March 8, 2018
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If he is gone from Carolina, by his own choice or not, Peters will have a job in the league next season if he wants one. The Rangers need the fresh approach to meaningful analytics, if nothing else.