Esposito Is Fired by New York Rangers

Phil Esposito was fired Wednesday as coach, general manager and vice president of the New York Rangers after a tenure marked by his many trades.

Esposito was fired less than two months after receiving a vote of confidence from Madison Square Garden Sports Group, which owns the hockey team.

Esposito, who never led the team past the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, said the firing left him “in some ways relieved, in other ways frustrated.”

Esposito, 47, had one year remaining on his contract.