![]() There were a few long faces among the Rangers on Wednesday, perhaps none more downcast than the usually upbeat Artemi Panarin. “I’m coming in here with what I think were two excellent years. “I see the same posts and all that, but nobody from this organization has told me anything,” he said. He’s justified in being upset at having to wonder if he’s sticking around. 662 points percentage is the best for a Rangers coach who lasted more than one season and even his 13 playoff wins are already top 10 in franchise history. So approval to even talk to Quenneville might not come until just before the NHL Draft in late June, which could be too far along for Drury to consider a big change as he also tries to make whatever roster changes he can starting on July 1. The league would have to decide to remove the ban on Quenneville and commissioner Gary Bettman is likely in no rush to do so a quick decision there brings a load of questions for Bettman during the playoffs, which is not what the league wants to focus on. Drury would need to get approval from the league, which has Quenneville on unofficial suspension stemming from his handling of the Kyle Beach sexual assault with the Hawks in 2010. Joel Quenneville might sway them, but there are a number of steps to be taken before the currently-banned championship coach could be considered. It’s not believed that Drury has any appetite to dump Gallant for any other coach, unless something unexpected happens in Pittsburgh between the Penguins and Mike Sullivan the crop of available veteran coaches, from Peter Laviolette to Bruce Boudreau to Darryl Sutter, is not likely to sway the Rangers into making a move. However, this may not be a usual summer if the Rangers are looking to make a change. And Gallant addressing reporters after the players spoke is not usually the act of a coach who may be on the way out. Though, as Gallant pointed out, that was also the case after last season’s run to the Eastern Conference final, a year in which Gallant was nominated for the Jack Adams award. Here’s what we can say right now: Gallant was not in player exit meetings on Wednesday, they were conducted by Drury alone. The Athletic can confirm a report from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman that Gallant and GM Chris Drury got heated after the Game 4 loss to the Devils, fueling speculation that a first-round exit might bring a change behind the bench. Gallant’s been on the hot seat since the Rangers were eliminated and even a bit before this postseason.
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