Gerard Gallant has always been outspoken in his NHL coaching career. He expressed disappointment with the way the Florida Panthers dismissed him in Nov. 27. He even said that he was “a stubborn guy that gave his opinion a bit too much” when he talked to ESPN after his firing.
He said the firing was “still stinging” when talked to the South Florida Sentinel ahead of his reunion with the Panthers when he returned as coach of the Vegas Golden Knights. Gallant was not shy about how unceremonious his firing was from Florida.
It wouldn’t take long for him to find his feet as he was named the first coach in Vegas team history. The former NHL player has been the same opinionated self with the Golden Knights. Gallant turned up the volume in the recently-completed series against the San Jose Sharks.
Gerard Gallant Sounds Off
The 55-year-old tore into Sharks coach Peter DeBoer and called him a clown ahead of the two team’s series-deciding game. Gallant called DeBoer “a clown” when the Sharks coach said Gallant was chirping San Jose players.
“For that clown to say that in the paper yesterday, it’s not right,” said Gallant to the media, who denied engaging in trash talk with Sharks players.
The banter seemed to make the tightly-contested series even more contentious. There was a lot of chippy play and bad blood between the teams in the great seven-game series.
Reflecting on Game 7
San Jose was able to overcome Gallant and Vegas to earn a 5-4 overtime victory in the series clincher. He looked back on how his Golden Knights were eliminated and was irritated by the controversial cross-check call to Cody Eakin on Joe Pavelski. The resulting penalty was a five-minute major that allowed San Jose to score four times.
“They said that basically he cross-checked him across the face and we all saw that didn’t happen,” an irritated Gerard Gallant said after the game. “Last year we’re in the Stanley Cup Final and it was tough to lose. Tonight (Tuesday) was tougher than that.”
Gallant echoed the sentiments of many Golden Knights fans, who feel the series was taken from them. He was not shy about how disappointed the series ended.
The Last Word
Coaches like John Tortorella and former players like Sean Avery may be more known for being outspoken. However, Gallant will always let his feeling be known. It’s been that way since he ran the Panthers and the Golden Knights.
Perhaps he’ll end up the list of 100 top inspirational sports quotes like former San Jose coach Kevin Constantine.
VANCOUVER, BC – SEPTEMBER 17: Head Coach Gerard Gallant of the Vegas Golden Knights during a game against the Vancouver Canucks in NHL pre-season action on September 17, 2017 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)
