The Vegas Golden Knights fired head coach Peter DeBoer on Monday, the team’s general manager Kelly McCrimmon announced.
“We would like to thank Pete DeBoer for his commitment to the Vegas Golden Knights over the past three seasons,” McCrimmon said in a press release. “Since joining the organization, Pete and his staff have guided us through some of the most unique and challenging circumstances we’ve witnessed since our franchise entered the NHL. After lengthy discussions over the last two weeks, we believe that a new coach will put us in the best position to succeed next season.”
DeBoer had one season remaining on his contract and was set to make $3.25 million for the 2022-23 campaign.
DeBoer went an impressive 98-50-12 in his three seasons as the Golden Knights head coach. Vegas reached the Conference Finals in each of DeBoer’s first two seasons with the franchise, but this season, for the first time in Golden Knights history, the team failed to reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Golden Knights had lofty expectations after making a huge splash in November when they acquired star center Jack Eichel in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres. But Vegas still wound up finishing the 2021-22 season with a 43-31-8 record (94 points), three points behind the Nashville Predators for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
