Coach Peter DeBoer Fired After Vegas Golden Knights’ First-Ever Playoff Miss

The Vegas Golden Knights will make a change behind the bench as they move forward after missing the playoffs for the first time in their franchise’s five-year history.

On Monday, the organization announced that it has parted ways with head coach Peter DeBoer after two and a half seasons.

“We would like to thank Pete DeBoer for his commitment to the Vegas Golden Knights over the past three seasons,” said general manager Kelly McCrimmon in a statement. “Since joining the organization, Pete and his staff have guided us through some of the most unique and challenging circumstances we’ve witnessed since our franchise entered the NHL. After lengthy discussions over the last two weeks, we believe that a new coach will put us in the best position to succeed next season.”

Darren Dreger of TSN reports that assistant coaches Steve Spott and Ryan McGill have also been let go, and that DeBoer has one year remaining on his current contract.

That deal was signed when he joined the Golden Knights on Jan. 15, 2020 — just over a month after he’d been fired by the San Jose Sharks. That same day, Vegas dismissed its first-ever head coach, Gerard Gallant, who had accomplished the seemingly impossible by guiding the expansion franchise to the Stanley Cup Final in its inaugural 2017-18 season.

Gallant returned to the NHL this season with the New York Rangers. He got his new team back to the playoffs and on Sunday, the Rangers advanced to the second round for the first time in five years after their Game 7 overtime win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

DeBoer’s Legacy

In Vegas, DeBoer guided the Golden Knights to a regular-season record of 98-50-12 for 208 points in 160 regular-season games. In 2020, the Golden Knights sat first in the Pacific Division when the season was paused in March due to Covid-19. Later that summer, in the playoff bubble in Edmonton, they reached the Western Conference Final before falling to the Dallas Stars.

In the shortened 2020-21 season, Vegas posted a record of 40-14-2 for 82 points in 56 games — playing exclusively in the reconfigured Honda West Division. The Golden Knights tied with the Colorado Avalanche for the best record in the NHL, and reached the third round once again before falling to the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup semifinal.

As they returned to the Pacific Division and an 82-game schedule in 2021-22, the Golden Knights made a bold offseason move to free up salary-cap space by trading beloved goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to the Chicago Blackhawks. Then, in November, they acquired injured center Jack Eichel from the Buffalo Sabres.

Eichel’s acquisition further tightened an already challenging salary-cap situation, leaving McCrimmon to make extensive use of long-term injured reserve to keep his team cap compliant.

And he had plenty of injuries to work with. No Vegas player dressed for all 82 games in the 2021-22 season. Key absences included captain Mark Stone (37 games played), top scorer Max Pacioretty (39 games played), goaltender Robin Lehner (44 games played) and defenseman Alec Martinez (26 games played).

NHL Injury Viz shows the Golden Knights with the second-highest man-games lost (MGL) to injury in the 2021-22 season, and the second-highest cap hit assigned to injured players (CHIP).

So — DeBoer never had it easy in Vegas.

There was some resentment from the fanbase because he had replaced Gallant, revered for his immediate success in galvanizing the ‘Golden Misfits’ into a competitive squad that was easy to root for.

And DeBoer’s arrival came less than two months before Covid-19 disrupted the NHL landscape in ways that are still being felt today — including a drag on salary-cap increases that has been especially challenging for teams like the Golden Knights, who try to wring out every penny of value while still remaining compliant with the league’s hard-cap system.

At his best, DeBoer operates with a confident swagger. But as the pressure to make the playoffs mounted late this season, he became increasingly prickly as his team stumbled. In the end, the Golden Knights fell short of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference by three points.

Is Barry Trotz Next?

DeBoer’s dismissal comes exactly one week after Barry Trotz’s surprise dismissal by the New York Islanders.

Widely regarded as one of the best coaches in the business, Trotz was immediately linked to Vegas. In five years, the Golden Knights have established a reputation for going after the biggest names that come available in the hockey world. Money is no object — and when it comes to coaches, the salary cap is not an issue, either.

Vegas fans and management saw Trotz at the top of his game in 2018, when his Washington Capitals won the Stanley Cup at T-Mobile Arena after defeating the Golden Knights four games to one. Trotz also shares roots in the province of Manitoba with McCrimmon, the longtime owner and past general manager and coach of the Western Hockey League’s Brandon Wheat Kings.

Trotz has not yet given any indication of his future plans following last week’s dismissal. He reportedly has one year remaining on his contract with the Islanders, at $4 million, and there has been some talk that he might not be eager to get back behind a bench immediately, if at all.

On Monday, the Islanders announced that Trotz’s longtime assistant, Lane Lambert, is taking over their head-coaching duties.

DeBoer’s Future

All told, 53-year-old DeBoer has coached 1,015 games for four teams since joining the NHL coaching ranks in 2008. His overall record is 513-379-123, for 1,149 points and a .566 points percentage.

In the playoffs, he’s 68-55 in 123 games. He has reached the Stanley Cup Final twice — with the New Jersey Devils in 2012 and the San Jose Sharks in 2016.

DeBoer could be considered for current coaching vacancies in Philadelphia and Detroit. The Winnipeg Jets and Chicago Blackhawks have also indicated that they’ll be conducting offseason coaching searches, with current interim bosses Dave Lowry and Derek King invited to apply for those positions.