Golden Knights Moving Closer To Hiring Their Head Coach

The Vegas Golden Knights have accelerated their process to hire their inaugural head coach, owner Bill Foley told Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

“We might have our hire made before the end of the season.  At this point, I’d say it’s 50-50 we have our head coach in place before the season’s over.”

Originally, the expectation was that a coach would be hired following the regular season and potentially before the upcoming expansion draft in June.  The fact that the timeline is accelerating suggests that the Golden Knights have their preferred target in mind and may have to act sooner rather than later in order to get their top choice.

If that is indeed the case, one of the options that would be among the favorites is former Florida bench boss Gerard Gallant.  The team asked for permission to talk to him and it’s believed they received the green light to do so.  Foley wouldn’t confirm or deny that Gallant is who they were hoping to hire:

“No comment. But I believe we’re going to get a very good coach.”

Carp suggests that the Islanders’ decision to let Jack Capuano go as their head coach is what likely precipitated the decision to try to move up the timetable to hire a coach.  Not only does their decision mean that there is another team currently with a vacancy (Doug Weight is filling in on an interim basis but isn’t believed to be a strong candidate to take the role permanently) but Gallant has history with New York, having served as an assistant with the team from 2007-2009.

Whether it’s Gallant, Capuano, or someone else, it appears that GM George McPhee has a desired hire in mind and may be moving to lock that coach up earlier than originally expected.