Rangers head coach John Tortorella axed after 4-plus years

The Rangers fired head coach John Tortorella Wednesday, four days after the team’s elimination from the playoffs and two days after defending Vezina Trophy winner Henrik Lundqvist was noncommittal about signing a long-term contract extension.

“Every coach has a shelf life, and I’ve told every guy that I’ve hired that at some point in time, this is going to change,” Rangers President Glen Sather said in a conference call yesterday. “There were a few things that went into this, and it was more of a decision on how we’re going to get better and challenge for the Stanley Cup.”

A year ago, the Blueshirts finished as the top seed in the Eastern Conference and reached the conference finals, but slipped to the No. 6 seed this season. They were eliminated in five games by the Boston Bruins in the second round.

During Tortorella’s four-plus-year tenure, the Rangers made the playoffs four times and recorded 171 regular season wins. But despite the acquisition of right winger Rick Nash, the Blueshirts still struggled to generate offense in the postseason, as the team averaged a mere 2.2 goals in 13 playoff games.

The Rangers undoubtedly aren’t very deep into their search for John Tortorella’s replacement — general manager Glen Sather said during Wednesday’s conference call that the team hopes to hire a new coach before the June 30 draft — but here are a few names the team could consider.

(Scott Fontana)