The New York Rangers announced Wednesday that they will hire Gerard Gallant to be the organization’s 36th head coach.
Gallant comes to New York having been a head coach for nine seasons in the National Hockey League. Gallant spent two and half seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets; in 142 games with the Blue Jackets, he amassed a record of 56-76-4. He was fired after 15 games after the team got off to a poor start in the 2006-2007 season.
In Gerard Gallant’s second head coaching job, he was the head coach of the Florida Panthers. During his two and a half seasons in South Florida, he led the Panthers to a record of 96-65-25. In his second season, he led the Panthers to the first round of the playoffs; however, they were eliminated by the New York Islanders. However, during his third season, he was fired by the Panthers after 22 games in the 2016-2017 season.
In April of 2017, Gallant was hired to coach the then NHL’s newest team, the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Gallant’s first season with the Knights, he led them to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they would lose to the Washington Capitals. In the second season, the Knights were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the San Jose Sharks. However, in year three the pattern of Gallant’s career would continue as he would be fired from the Golden Knights.
With Gallant’s new job in New York, he inherits a team that has been to the playoffs once in the past four seasons. The Rangers hope that Gallant can bring winning back to the Rangers organization. Also, for the Rangers, this is a great hire as Gallant had been on the odds on favorite for the Kraken job after his experience with Vegas. However, with the Rangers in a rebuild, only time will tell about how successful Gallant is in the Big Apple.
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