Kelly McCrimmon Explains Decision to Fire Pete DeBoer

On Monday morning, the Vegas Golden Knights chose to fire head coach Pete DeBoer after an extremely disappointing 2021-22 season. Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon spoke with the media Monday to discuss his decision to fire DeBoer, which was clearly not an easy one for him to make, as he waited over two weeks from the club’s final game of the regular season before coming to this conclusion.

“In terms of the why, here’s where we’re at as an organization,” McCrimmon said. “We had three very compressed seasons. I really felt as the season wound down you could feel the fatigue that had gathered over time. We have a four and a half month offseason, which I think is going to be extremely important for our group. We missed playoffs which is humbling for a team no matter what the reasons were for how that happened. I think what it’s going to give us is an opportunity in the fall to be incredibly rested, rehabbed, recharged, excited.

“As I went through it, I felt we could enhance that by having a new voice leading our team into next season. The decision was made based on next year, the decision was not made based on last year. I’m not going to be critical of Pete or point out specifics as to why this decision was made. I’ve got a lot of respect for Pete as a man. I’ve got a lot of respect for him as a coach. These decisions are made for the future, and that’s why we’re here today to discuss this.”

The reaction on this is likely to be mixed amongst the fan base. While several wanted DeBoer gone, many others were more critical of how Kelly McCrimmon has chosen to build this team, one in which not only had issues staying under the salary cap this season but will continue to for a number of seasons moving forward. Many others have pointed out the fact that this team simply had bad luck in the 2021-22 campaign, as they had a ton of injuries right from the get go. Regardless of anyone’s opinion, a decision has been made, and this club will now soon begin their search for a new bench boss for the 2022-23 season.