The Rangers swept the Washington Capitals in the first round of the 2024 playoffs, then clinched a six-game victory over the Carolina Hurricanes before facing elimination at the hands of the eventual champion Florida Panthers in Game 6 of the conference final.

On Day 9 of president and general manager Chris Drury’s hunt for a new head coach of the Rangers, Mike Sullivan’s departure from the Penguins changed everything. The “eyes wide open” coaching search that Drury said he wouldn’t have any “preset dispositions” on suddenly turned into immediately targeting and aggressively pursuing one specific coach.