Pete DeBoer Fired as Golden Knights Head Coach

After taking some time to make a decision, the Vegas Golden Knights announced on Monday that they have fired head coach Pete DeBoer.

There was plenty of speculation surrounding the future of DeBoer in recent weeks after the Golden Knights missed the playoffs entirely. It was an extremely disappointing season for a team that everyone expected to be a Stanley Cup contender. In DeBoer’s defense, this team was decimated by injuries all season long. But even with that being considered, their lineup on a nightly basis was one that should have been able to get into the playoffs given how weak the Pacific Division was compared to others.

This firing marks the second head coach to be fired in Golden Knights franchise history, as they chose to fire Gerard Gallant midway through the 2018-19 campaign and replace him with DeBoer. Since taking over the team during that 2018-19 season, DeBoer led the team to a record of 98-50-12 during his two and a half years behind the bench. He also led them to the Conference Final in each of the past two years, though were unable to advance to the Stanley Cup Final in either season due to losses to the Dallas Stars and the Montreal Canadiens.

With this firing, plenty of speculation will continue as to who the Golden Knights may hire next. Many have suggested Barry Trotz, who will have plenty of interest after his recent firing from the New York Islanders. As for Pete DeBoer, after being fired by the Golden Knights, he too should have a number of teams reaching out this summer given his lengthy resume as a head coach at the NHL level. Unfortunately, things just didn’t work out quite as planned between himself and the Golden Knights organization.