Rangers' AHL affiliate shakes up coaching staff, fire head coach

Rangers' AHL affiliate shakes up coaching staff, fire head coach originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The changes hitting the New York Rangers organization in the offseason have reached the American Hockey League (AHL) level, with the Hatford Wolf Pack terminating Grant Potulny, Jamie Tardif, and Paul Mara.

Potulny served as head coach with both Tardif and Mara being fired after serving as assistant coaches. The announcement came from the Wolf Pack on the evening of May 3. Hartford finished last in the Atlantic Division with 60 points this season and missed the Calder Cup Playoffs for a second consecutive year; the Rangers also ended their most recent campaign last in the Eastern Conference.

Potulny had acted as the Wolf Pack head coach for the last two seasons after Kris Knoblauch left to become the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers.

Tardif had been a Hartford assistant since the 2022-23 season, while Mara joined the staff in Dec., 2023 after initially getting hired as a player development assistant that same August.

Rangers seeing organizational retool

Other changes to the Rangers' organization have also been recently reported.

Jed Ortmeyer, the Rangers' director of player development who also spent the first part of his career as a player with the Blueshirts, left to pursue other opportunities. As a result — Tanner Glass, who had been the assistant director of player development since 2019, was promoted to Ortmeyer's former role.