5/19/21 | 11:40 AM: Pierre LeBrun said on his podcast that “Gallant’s interview with the Rangers left a really positive impression on the Rangers and Chris Drury, so we will see if that ultimately means he gets a call back after the World Championships.” (The Athletic)
5/14/21 | 5:44 PM: Pierre LeBrun said that Gallant’s interview with the Rangers today “went well.”
The Rangers are expected to interview 3-4 more candidates. (LeBrun)
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5:01 PM: Larry Brooks writes that an initial talk with Gallant was expected to take place either today or tomorrow. (NY Post)
11:01 AM: Columbus is expected to ask for permission to speak with Gallant. (The Athletic)
10:42 AM: On Gallant, Elliotte Friedman said on the 30 Thoughts Podcast, “I think what Chris Drury is going to do is they are doing their research on candidates…..One of the people I don’t think they know very well that they are doing a lot of research on is Gallant and I do think that they are potentially interested in Gallant, but they are doing their research on him. Gallant was not a guy that they didn’t know as much about and they are asking a lot of questions about him and I do think he’s a legit contender. ”
5/131/21 | 6:36 PM: Darren Dreger said on TSN that the Rangers have been granted permission from the Vegas Golden Knights to interview Gerard Gallant.
Gallant is believed to be at the top of the Rangers list to replace David Quinn.
Dreger said that the Rangers want to have at least one conversation with Gallant before he travels to Latvia to coach Canada at the World Championships. (TSN)
Gallant was fired by Vegas last season and replaced by Pete DeBoer.
In parts of three seasons, Gallant had a record of 118-75-20 and won the 2018 Jack Adams Award as Vegas went to the Stanley Cup Final in their first year of existence.
When Gallant was fired Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon said “with respect to what was behind the decision, as a manager, sometimes you have a feeling that something isn’t the way you need it to be or want it to be. We feel we’ve underperformed a little bit, and certainly that’s not to pile that at the feet of Mike and Gerard, but sometimes you feel a change is needed.”
Gallant is reportedly still under contract with Vegas through the end of this season. (The Athletic)
Gallant has been an NHL head coach thrice, first with Columbus (2003-04 to 2006-07), then Florida (2014-15 to 2016-17) and Vegas (2017-18 to 2019-20. In each case he was fired during his third season.
Gallant played 615 games in his NHL career and was teammates with Adam Graves for parts of three seasons in Detroit.
Adam Rotter: The Rangers will likely have their conversation with Gallant and then use the time he is coaching Team Canada to speak with other candidates. It’s possible they will speak with him while he’s at the World Championships, but this is step one in the process to replace David Quinn.