Sunday night it was revealed that Florida Panthers Head Coach Gerard Gallant had been relieved of his position with the team.
Coaching change in @NHL with the @FlaPanthers. @Sportsnet has learned Gerard Gallant has been relieved of his duties.
— Nick Kypreos (@RealKyper) November 28, 2016
The move came after the team has had it’s best first 22 games since the 2011-12 season, but has struggled with injuries to key players and consistency. They currently sit at 18th in the league and 5th in the Atlantic Division with a record of 11-10-1.
This was Gallant’s third season in Florida, after two seasons as an assistant with the Montreal Canadiens. He took over Peter Horachek‘s spot, and led the team to an Atlantic Division title last season after scoring 103 points.
Gallant also coached the Columbus Blue Jackets for part of the 2003-04 season, the entire 2005-06 season, and started the season with them in 2006-07. In total, he’s been the head coach of an NHL team in 327 games, and has won 152 of those games. Last season was his first time being to the playoffs as a head coach, but the Panthers lost in the first round to the New York Islanders.
Coaching wasn’t Gallant’s first experience with the league. He played in 615 NHL games, all but 52 with the Detroit Red Wings, and tallied a total of 480 points and 1674 penalty minutes.
Now that he has been let go, the team reported that Tom Rowe will take over as head coach. Rowe is currently the general manager of the club, but was also coach the team’s AHL affiliate, the Portland Pirates, last season. He led the team to the first round of the playoffs last season, but lost.
Tom Rowe will take over as head coach in FLA.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) November 28, 2016
Gallant is unlikely to go without a solidified job next season. If he isn’t picked up by a team elsewhere in the league, he could be hired by the expansion Las Vegas Golden Knights.
The Golden Knights are still without a coaching staff, but Gallant could be a good start to said staff.
Strong sentiment from rival NHL execs tonight that Gerard Gallant will have no trouble landing on his feet after being fired in Florida.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) November 28, 2016
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