On May 29, 2013, the New York Rangers fired John Tortorella and Mike Sullivan. The firings kick-started a string of success for the Rangers organization, as in the following season new Head Coach Alain Vigneault led the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Final. Meanwhile, in Vancouver, Tortorella and Sullivan lasted one season before being fired yet again.
It appeared as if Tortorella and Sullivan’s careers were swirling down the drain after leaving New York. In a cruel twist of fate for the Rangers, however, both coaches found their respective homes in the Metropolitan Division.
John Tortorella was the first of the outcasts to join the division.