In an odd mix between being a surprising yet expected move, the New York Rangers have announced today that they have agreed to part ways with head coach Gerard Gallant. This will mark the end of his two-year stint in New York, and the Rangers now become a new player on the head coaching market this summer.
Gallant’s first stint in coaching came when he joined the Columbus Blue Jackets as an assistant coach for their inaugural season in the league. As the franchise got off to a slow start, as was typical for expansion franchises at the time, Gallant was promoted to head coach of the Blue Jackets halfway through the 2003-04 season. Getting off to a 5-9-1 start to the 2006-07 season, Gallant was fired by the Blue Jackets organization and finished his first head coaching stint with a 56-76-4-6 record.
Between 2008-2014, Gallant would spend time with the New York Islanders and Montreal Canadiens, both in the assistant coach position. Between those two stops on his coaching journey, Gallant would spend three seasons in the QMJHL as head coach of the Saint John Sea Dogs. Finally, after moving on from the Canadiens, Gallant would get his next opportunity as a head coach in the NHL, joining the Florida Panthers before the 2014-15 season.
In Florida, Gallant had the benefit of joining a team that could seemingly only improve. In the 2013-14 season, Florida finished 29th in the league and would be awarded the number one overall selection in the 2014 NHL Draft, selecting Barrie Colts defenseman, Aaron Ekblad. In his first full season coaching Florida, the team improved better than expected, improving by 25 points in the standings year-on-year, and barely missing the playoffs.
In the 2015-16 season, the Panthers would finally make it back to the playoffs, finishing first in the Atlantic Division, but ultimately losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Islanders. After an 11-10-1 start to the 2016-17 season, Gallant was once again let go at the beginning of the season.
It would not take long for Gallant to find his new home, as he was hired by the newest expansion team, the Vegas Golden Knights, before their first season in 2017-18. Accomplishing one of the most unexpected feats in NHL history, Gallant would lead the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final in their first season, losing to the Washington Capitals in five games. Taking a step back during the 2018-19 season, the Golden Knights would once again make the playoffs, but this time losing in the first round to the San Jose Sharks.
Just missing the 50-game mark of the 2019-20 season, Gallant would coach the Golden Knights to a 24-19-6 record and would be subsequently fired midseason once again in his head coaching career. He would finish his stint in Vegas with a 118-75-20 record over 213 games.
Finally, he once again found his way to the Big Apple, joining the Rangers as head coach starting in the 2021-22 season. In his two-year stint in New York as head coach, he would lead the Rangers to a 99-46-19 record, leading the team to the Eastern Conference Finals last year. Heading into the 2022-23 NHL offseason, the Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames, Blue Jackets, Capitals, and now the Rangers all have head coaching vacancies to fill.
As a Flyers fan I approve.
Coach Q, Mark Messier, Mike Babcock. No way in living hell do I want Peter Laviolette?
Q would be my guess, but I wonder if Messier would be the right person at this time. He’s what they needed as a player in the locker room, but I’d assume he’d be just as effective as a coach.
Personally I think Messier would be an awful coach. But I’m no one.
Babcock is useless unless he’s bringing young Nick Lidstrom with him to play defense.
Babcock never coached a young Lidstrom
F***IN ASS CLOWNS …DRURY SHOULD OF BEEN GONE…DOLAN PROVES HE IS A OWNER WITH NO CLUE…THANKS TO THE MEDIA TOO..LETS REPORT ON THEIR MARRIAGES AND FAMILY PROBLEMS…
I hope Turk can reinvent himself before he runs out of shelf life.
Book it. Gallant to the Capitals.
@Denny
I was thinking that too. Ironic, since he’s the coach they beat in the Finals, to win the Cup.
I was thinking Calgary honestly
Quenneville is the guy.
Keep dreaming
@Bloodfarts
You do know Coach Q can’t come back to the NHL without Bettman’s approval, right? Or was that a weak attempt at sarcasm?
Charming handle, BTW
Drury will absolutely ask Quenneville to reapply for reinstatement. The only other viable choice right now is Boudreau. Now way Drury goes after Laviolette. Q has to be the favorite unless something crazy happens and Pens dump Sullivan.
Hate to see him leave.Didn’t deserve to be canned.I’m sure he’ll be coaching next season somewhere in the NHL.Good Luck Turk.
‘hired to be fired’. nobody proves it more than gerard gallant. jeez, what it take to get a fella thru 3 years?!?
Of course he’ll find another job. These guys get passed around like a bong at a Frat party. Like a game of bad coaching musical chairs.
i am genuinely curious about gallant. he’s had good records the last 2 stops. does his style not age well? or has he just been a scapegoat twice in three years?
A owner that knows hockey people…not there for the $$$$
I must have missed why this was expected. He got fired why?
FLA>VGK>NYR…. somehow this dude always ends up ‘leaving’ ahead of schedule.. think maybe the common denominator here might be Gerard…. jus sayin.
So Swiney50 u know Turk well do you maybe the common denominator might be GM’s and owners that don’t have a clue…2 seasons with 100+pt and last year was a retool year give your head a shake…
Apparently it was the players exit interviews that was the tipping point.
Common denominator is all three teams had GMs and/or Owners who believed the team was better on paper than it was on the ice. Getting Vegas to the finals was a miracle but owner felt they should have won; NYR gave up too many shots all season long but were bailed out by Igor and Halak. and the NYR power play papered over the 5-on-5 gaps. EDM is having the same issue. It’s hard to win in the playoffs, but you gotta be in it to win it.
Seems like a coach who refuses to make adjustments to counter what the other teams are doing. Only thing I can guess as to why he has such a short shelf life wherever he goes.
I was really happy when Turk arrived in New York, fresh off coaching Team Canada to a World Championship, and after the David Quinn disaster. At the same time, when I looked at Turk’s track record at FLA and VGK, I wondered at the time how long he would last with the Rangers. I guess my skepticism was warranted, but I’m grateful for what he did these last two seasons and I wish him nothing but the best.