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Rangers hire Jay Leach to coach AHL Hartford: ‘an excellent decision’
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- Rangers hire Jay Leach to coach AHL Hartford: ‘an excellent decision’
The New York Rangers hired Jay Leach to coach their American Hockey League affiliate in Hartford on Friday, and it's already being heralded as "an excellent decision," per one hockey executive with minor league ties.
"He's a guy with NHL and AHL experience, well-respected by players and other coaches, and will bring a real sense of professionalism to that job," Forever Blueshirts was told by the executive, who preferred to remain anonymous. "It's an excellent decision by the Rangers."
Leach was an assistant with the Boston Bruins the past two seasons, including under interim head coach Joe Sacco for most of the 2024-25 season. Sacco is currently in his second season as an assistant with the Rangers, after the Bruins hired Marco Sturm as coach before this past season. But that's just one tie to the Rangers organization that Leach has.
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The 46-year-old was an assistant under current Rangers coach Mike Sullivan with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the AHL, before the Pittsburgh Penguins hired Sullivan as their coach in November of 2015. Though never a head coach in the NHL, the Rangers interviewed Leach a year ago for their opening, before hiring Sullivan to replace the fired Peter Laviolette.
Leach had much success as an AHL head coach with the Providence Bruins from 2017-21. He had a 136-77-26 record and led Providence to consecutive Atlantic Division titles in 2019-20 and 2020-21. After that fourth season in Providence, he landed in the NHL as an assistant with the Seattle Kraken .
The native of Syracuse played professionally for 12 seasons, mainly in the AHL and ECHL. A big (6-foot-4, 215 pounds) grinding forward in his day, Leach scored one goal, had three points, and accumulated 60 penalty minutes in 70 NHL games with the Bruins, New Jersey Devils , Montreal Canadiens , and San Jose Sharks .
Rangers hire Jay Leach to coach AHL Hartford Wolf Pack, after firing Grant Potulny
Grant Potulny — photo courtesy Hartford Wolf Pack
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Leach replaces Grant Potulny, who coached Hartford the previous two seasons. The Rangers fired Potulny in early May, after Hartford failed to qualify for the Calder Cup Playoffs in either 2024-25 or 2025-26. Potulny came from the college ranks, and it was speculated that the Rangers preferred a coach with professional experience in Hartford moving forward.
The Wolf Pack finished last in the AHL with 60 points this past season. Weak on both sides of the puck, Hartford had an atrocious minus-63 goal differential in 2025-26.
Before Potulny, Hartford reached the postseason two consecutive seasons, first under Kris Knoblauch, then with interim coach Steve Smith after Knoblauch was hired by the Edmonton Oilers during the 2023-24 season. Knoblauch was recently fired by the Oilers following three straight trips to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including finishing twice as Stanley Cup runners-up to the Florida Panthers .
Key Rangers prospects Liam Greentree and Nathan Aspinall turn pro next season and likely will start out in Hartford to learn from Leach. Scott Morrow , Brody Lamb, Jacob Battaglia, and Carey Terrance also should be on the Wolf Pack roster. And Leach could also have any one of a group of players that impressed with the Rangers down the stretch this past season but could need more AHL seasoning, like Adam Sykora , Drew Fortescue , and Dylan Garand .
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