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In a shocking turn of events, the New York Rangers on Wednesday fired team president John Davidson and general manager Jeff Gorton.
Assistant GM Chris Drury was hired to fill both positions.
The moves came after the Rangers were eliminated from playoff contention for the fourth consecutive season amid what many believed was a team still in the midst of a rebuild.
Sources told TSN that firings were "coincidental" and unrelated to this week’s drama surrounding Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson and the subsequent statement the team released slamming the NHL for not suspending him.
NHL SLAMMED FOR NOT SUSPENDING CAPITALS’ TOM WILSON AFTER RANGERS BRAWL: ‘A LINE WAS CROSSED’
Another source added that team owner James Dolan was unhappy with the season and felt they underachieved.
However, other reports cited sources saying that Davidson and Gorton tried to distance themselves from the statement that called NHL head of player safety George Parros "unfit" for the job.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - JUNE 21: (L-R) John Davidson and Jeff Gorton of the New York Rangers attends the 2019 NHL Draft at the Rogers Arena on June 21, 2019 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
"The New York Rangers are extremely disappointed that Capitals forward Tom Wilson was not suspended for his horrifying act of violence last night at Madison Square Garden," the team statement began. "Wilson is a repeat offender with a long history of these types of acts and we find it shocking that the NHL and their department of player safety failed to take the appropriate action and suspend him indefinitely."
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The statement continued: "Wilson’s dangerous and reckless actions caused an injury to Artemi Panarin that will prevent him from playing again this season. We view this as a dereliction of duty by NHL Head of Player Safety, George Parros, and believe he is unfit to continue in his current role."
According to those reports, Davidson and Gorton were unaware that the statement was in the works until after it was released.
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The Rangers faced the Capitals again Wednesday night in New York, with the Caps taking a 4-2 victory.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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