*Photo from the Las Vegas Review Journal*
The New York Rangers have their guy. The Rangers have hired Gerard Gallant to be their next head coach, according to Larry Brooks of the New York Post. The deal is for 4 years, expiring at the end of the 2024-2025 season. The Rangers have confirmed the hiring.
Gallant will be replacing David Quinn, who was fired by the Rangers at the end of the regular season, on May 12. The Rangers went 27-23-6 in the short 56 game season in 2020, finishing in 5th place in the East Division, just missing out on the playoffs. Former Arizona Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet also interviewed for the job.
In an interview on June 7, Gallant told The Athletic that "Obviously, it's been 16 months. I'm waiting for the next opportunity and I hope it comes soon. Not sure what's it going to be. I'm having conversations with some teams and hopefully something happens."
Gallant has previously coached the Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers, and Vegas Golden Knights in his career, amassing a 270-216-51 record across all 3 teams. One of his most notable appearances in the news came after the Panthers fired Gallant in the middle of a road trip, and he was forced to leave in a taxi instead of being allowed to take the team bus to the airport.
Gallant most recently coached the Golden Knights, being their first coach in franchise history. In their inaugural season, Gallant guided them to the Stanley Cup Final as Western Conference champions, before they lost in 5 games to the Washington Capitals. He won the Jack Adams award that season. Gallant was then fired in January of 2020 after a slow start to the 2019-2020 season.
Now that the Rangers have their coaching position filled, they have some front office positions to fill, after owner James Dolan fired John Davidson and Jeff Gorton at the same time as Quinn.
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