It has been reported by Larry Brooks that the New York Rangers have hired Gerard Gallant as their new head coach. Pierre LeBrun provided further intel, stating that it is a four-year deal but there’s no further information on the contract. The hiring comes a month after the Rangers received permission from the Golden Knights to interview Gallant.
Believe it’s a four-year deal for Gallant and Rangers https://t.co/W55qqurVF5
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 14, 2021
Gerard Gallant Hired As New York Rangers Coach
After the Rangers dismissed David Quinn, there was a list of possible coaches – even Rod Brind’Amour was in the conversation. However, the Gallant rumour has been around for a while now. And after a very successful run in the IIHF World Championship, that led to the gold medal, all heads turned to him.
Gallant has been great with every single team he has led. He was the first head coach of the Vegas Golden Knights and led them to the Stanley Cup finals in their first season. That sort of success doesn’t come around often and yet he still managed it. Speaking of surprises, this year’s Team Canada was definitely not their best team and he still led them to the gold medal. The man has the Midas touch.
During his 9-year NHL career as a head coach, he has a record of 270-216-4-51 in 541 career games. The 57-year-old has been behind the benches of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers and Golden Knights. He had a 24-19-6 record in the 2019-20 season before he was dismissed by Vegas. During his time there, Gallant won the Jack Adams Award, an accolade given to the league’s top coach, in 2018.
This year’s gold medal is his second leading the Canadians in the World Championship, having won gold in 2007 and silver in 2017.
What This Means For The Future
The Rangers need someone like Gallant behind their bench. With one of the youngest teams in the league, they need a coach who can work with them without scaring them away; Gallant is the perfect coach for that. With his experience and personality, he’s a coach that can manage a young team the right way. Having all the right pieces such as Alexis Lafreniere, Igor Shesterkin and Adam Fox, Gallant is a big candidate to take this team back to its former glory.
