Phil Esposito, general manager of the New...

Phil Esposito, general manager of the New York Rangers, fired Coach Ted Sator and named himself interim coach.

The Rangers were last in the National Hockey League’s Patrick Division with a 6-10-4 record and had lost three straight games before Friday night’s 8-5 win over Vancouver.

“Ted was a disciplinarian to the point that it hurt him,” Esposito said.

Six months ago, the Rangers had extended Sator’s contract through the 1988 season as a reward for his leading the club to the Wales Conference final in last year’s Stanley Cup competition.