The drama in Vegas continues.Â
The Vegas Golden Knights capped off a whirlwind 2021-22 season with yet another major announcement on Monday, relieving Peter DeBoer of his duties as head coach after the team failed to make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.Â
It’s hard to say most didn’t see this move coming.Â
DeBoer appeared to struggle mightily when it came to the player relationship side of his job during his tenure in Vegas, alienating star goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury on numerous occasions by first sitting him in a playoff game in 2020 that prompted Fleury’s agent to post a photoshopped picture of a sword stabbing through Fleury’s back with DeBoer’s name on it, before watching as Fleury was unceremoniously shipped out of town without warning a year later despite winning the Vezina Trophy.Â
This season, DeBoer targeted another goaltender on his roster, calling Robin Lehner’s performance into question multiple times to the media while the netminder was playing through several serious injuries that would ultimately end his season, capping things off by forcing him to dress as the backup for a game despite reports surfacing days earlier that Lehner would be undergoing season-ending surgery, all due to what many reported to be cap-related reasons.Â
The constant noise around Vegas this season was just too loud to ignore.Â
Despite icing a star-studded roster and pulling off a blockbuster trade for star center Jack Eichel, the Golden Knights failed to earn a postseason berth in a comparatively weak division, ending their season with multiple crushing losses during what should have been a spirited playoff push.Â
Injuries certainly played a major hand in Vegas’ struggles this season. But whispers of growing discontent with DeBoer from within the Golden Knights’ locker room had been bubbling under the surface all year long. His treatment of Lehner, whom the organization had recently signed to a high-priced five-year contract extension to be their franchise goaltender, appeared to be the final straw.Â
Now, the Golden Knights will search for a third head coach in their five seasons of existence.Â
Hopefully, this one will bring the stability they desperately need.Â
