Ranger head coach is dead because of……

As the Rangers mull over the candidates for their vacant head coaching position, a new report says the Blueshirts will be ready make their decision this week.

Vincent Mercogliano of LoHud.com cites a source that believes a final decision will be announced before the end of the week and perhaps as soon as Wednesday.

So far, the Rangers head coaching gig seems to be a two-horse race between Peter Laviolette and John Hynes.

As for former Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville, Mercogliano believes that while he could be an option, he is set to meet with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman after the Stanley Cup Finals concludes and New York won’t likely wait for him.

June 5, 1:25 p.m

The Rangers do not consider Patrick Roy to be a candidate for their vacant head coaching position and will not interview him, the New York Post’s Mollie Walker reported Monday.

Roy, the four-time Stanley Cup-winning goaltender, spent three seasons behind the bench with the Colorado Avalanche before he stepped down after a disappointing 2015-16 season.

In Colorado, Roy had a 130-92-24 record with one playoff appearance after a 112-point season his first season there, which ended in a Game 7 upset by the No. 7 seed Minnesota Wild.

He just finished the fifth year of his second stint as head coach of the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with a Memorial Cup win after announcing prior to the season it would be his final one with the club. Roy began his coaching career with the Remparts, spending eight seasons behind the bench before joining the Avalanche.

Walker noted John Hynes and Peter Laviolette remain the front-runners for the position.

The Rangers have been given permission by the Predators to speak with John Hynes to fill their vacant head coaching position, the day after Nashville fired Hynes, according to the New York Post.

Hynes was the coach in Nashville for parts of four seasons after replacing another candidate for the Rangers job, Peter Laviolette. He made the playoffs in his first two full seasons, losing in the first round both times, but failed to qualify for the postseason this campaign, leading to his dismissal. Hynes’ record with the Preds was 134-96-18.

Hynes and Rangers general manager Chris Drury were teammates at Boston University in the 1990s, the Post’s Mollie Walker notes.

The Predators fired Hynes – and assistant coach Dan Lambert – and announced the hiring of Devils assistant coach Andrew Brunette to be their next head coach on Tuesday.