This offseason, the New York Rangers hired Jay Leach as the head coach for the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League.
There’s some history involved with this hire, as Leach was a head-coaching candidate back in 2023 before they hired Peter Laviolette.
Mike Sullivan also has a relationship with Leach. In fact, it was actually Sullivan who gave Leach his first coaching opportunity ahead of the 2015-16 season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League.
“He’s a really good person, first and foremost,” Sullivan said via The New York Post in 2023. “He’s a great communicator. He just has a knack with relationships. I think he’s a likeable person. Players gravitate towards him. He’s a good leader. He’s been in leadership roles when he was playing in the American League, and so he brought all of that to the coaching aspect of what he’s doing now.
“When I got a chance to work right next to him in Wilkes-Barre, I was really impressed, but not surprised, with his work ethic. He rolls his sleeves up, he works hard at being a good coach, he brings a certain humility to the job every day that I think is so important for all of us.”
Leach previously served as an assistant coach for the Seattle Kraken from 2021 to 2024 and, most recently, for the Boston Bruins from 2024 to 2026.
The Rangers hired Leach shortly after coach Grant Potulny and assistants Jamie Tardif and Paul Mara were relieved of their duties with the Wolf Pack.
Bob Woods and John Stevens were also brought on to serve as assistant coaches under Leach in Hartford.
