The Hartford Wolf Pack fired Grant Potulny after a last-place finish in the AHL. Why did it happen? Was it justified? What comes next?
The Hartford Wolf Pack fired its head coach, Grant Potulny, on Sunday. He was hired in the 2024 offseason, and the team missed the playoffs in each of his two seasons behind the bench while finishing 2025-26 with the worst record in the American Hockey League. It’s easy to look at this move by the Wolf Pack and the New York Rangers up top and say that he shouldn’t have taken the fall since the struggles and failures of this season weren’t his fault.
The Rangers and Wolf Pack were built to fail with years of poor drafting and mismanagement, leaving them a mess. That is a reflection on the general manager, both Chris Drury at the NHL level and Ryan Martin at the AHL level. However, in hockey, the coach often takes the fall, even if it’s undeserved.
The Potulny firing is an instance where two things can be true at the same time. The season was a disaster, and changes had to happen, with the bench boss being one of them. Like the Bridgeport Islanders last season, not everything was a coaching issue, yet they had to bring in a new coach to help change the culture. The same thing is happening with the Wolf Pack now.
Why Potulny Struggled in the AHL
He’s from a college and development background. Potulny was born in North Dakota and coached at Northern Michigan for seven seasons, plus spent time with the USA development team, explaining the connection he had with Martin. This background usually helps coaches as they head to the AHL, a league where player development is key. He has a great X’s and O’s mind, and it showed whenever he talked about systems and styles of play.
His background helped him but also held him back. Potulny never connected with his players, certainly not ot the same degree as he did as a college coach. The age gap in college is minimal, with most players in their early 20s but not much older. In the AHL, players range from their early 20s to their mid-30s with families and everything in between. That gap requires a coach who can connect with all player types.
Potulny couldn’t. This was noticeable during the Wolf Pack's slump in November when the players and coach were asked what needed to change. The players kept talking about the process and sticking to the plan from the start of the season. After a Nov. 14 loss to the Rochester Americans, he stated, “None of it matters. We’re at a point where we need wins. Right now, it’s not about the process, it’s about winning hockey games.” When he was asked what needed to happen, his response was “The players have to play.”
On top of the disconnect and losing the locker room, Potulny struggled with the turnover that comes with the AHL. Players are called up and sent down all the time, and the roster in one week will look much different from the roster the next.
The Wolf Pack weren’t the same team in the 2024-25 season when Matt Rempe was called up. They weren’t the same after Gabe Perreault was called up this season. The Wolf Pack would run the same system and play the same way even when it didn’t result in wins.
Ultimately, the prospects Potulny was brought in to develop took a step back. Brett Berard had 23 points in 30 games in 2024-25 and had only 22 points in 41 games this season. Dylan Roobroeck followed up a 20-goal rookie season with 11 goals while struggling as a top-six center. Brennan Othmann struggled from the start of the season and was ultimately traded to the Calgary Flames at the deadline as the Rangers cut bait with a prospect they had high hopes for.
That falls on the head coach. The Rangers needed some of those players to add a spark to an aging roster. Aside from Perreault, they didn’t get one, and the outlook for next season isn’t great either. It’s why a coaching change had to happen.
The Rangers Didn’t Help Potulny Out
The Rangers left Potulny out to dry with the roster they gave him at the start of this season. Alex Belzile, Benoit-Olivier Groulx, and Jake Leschyshyn all left in the 2025 offseason, requiring the Wolf Pack to replace their top two scorers and a top-six center from the previous season. The only significant upgrade they made was signing Trey Fix-Wolansky, who, by his standards, had a disappointing season.
The AHL is where great teams have a great veteran presence, not just to help them win games but to mentor the young players. The Wolf Pack didn’t bring in enough of those veterans, and it’s why Potulny was left without much to work with.
The irony is that Martin is to blame for this, as the GM of the Wolf Pack. There’s a possibility that the Rangers prevented him from doing much either but it’s his responsibility to find the right players to round out the roster. He didn’t, yet he’s still seen as an up-and-coming GM, someone poised for an NHL job sometime soon (it’s why he interviewed for multiple openings this offseason).
Like Potulny, Martin is an excellent hockey mind who has a great track record outside of the Rangers organization. His success with the Grand Rapids Griffins and with the USA development teams makes him a top candidate for an NHL job someday. However, like Potulny, the Rangers and the past season showed his shortcomings.
What Comes Next?
Potulny will still be a great coach somewhere. He was made for the college game and will presumably return to find a position somewhere in the NCAA. He can build up a program and not worry about all the headaches that come with a league like the AHL.
The Wolf Pack must figure out how many changes they will make. If Martin ends up staying as the GM, he must get the next hire right. He wasn’t the GM who brought in Kris Knoblauch, who was a success, and his first hire didn’t work out. As a young GM that many NHL teams are monitoring closely, he must prove he has an eye for talent, and that includes finding the right coaches and building the right staff.
If Martin doesn’t return, the pressure shifts to the Rangers, who must evaluate everything from the top down. They are a mess and need a culture change. The head coach is only the start.