It stems from New York's decision after last season to waive forward Barclay Goodrow when he still had three years remaining on his contract, followed by the strong attempt to convince former captain Jacob Trouba to waive his modified no-trade clause so he could be moved before July 1.

Peter Laviolette was fired as coach of the New York Rangers on Saturday, ending his tenure after two seasons, the second of which was a massive underachievement of missing the playoffs. General manager Chris Drury made the move less than 48 hours after the finale of a lost season that followed a trip to the Eastern Conference final last year and set the stage for Stanley Cup-contending aspirations.