New Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant has been an NHL head coach with Columbus, Florida, and Vegas and was the 2017-18 Jack Adams Award winner.

In describing his time as a head coach in Florida Gallant told The Athletic “I think when people look at my record they’d say, ‘You know what? He did a pretty good job.” (The Athletic)

He said that one of the biggest changes that came from his time as head coach in Columbus to his time as head coach in Florida was “confidence” and trusting the decisions he was making. (The Athletic)

The Athletic wrote that Gallant’s reputation in Florida and Vegas was one of someone who can relate to players but “also hold them accountable.”

Gallant described himself as “tough, but I’m fair” and can be both a
“players’ coach” and “a hard-ass” depending on what the “situation calls for.” (The Athletic)

When he was hired in Florida, Dale Tallon said “Gerard is an excellent teacher and motivator who possesses the leadership qualities and hockey knowledge that are necessary to lead our team.” (NHL.com)

When he was hired in Vegas, George McPhee said of Gallant,  “he is an experienced head coach, has had success at multiple levels and has a great reputation amongst the players who have played for him.” (NHL.com)

Larry Brooks wrote in the NY Post that Gallant “believes in up-tempo, puck-pursuit, puck-pressure hockey.”

Brooks adds that the scouting report he has gotten on Gallant is that he is a “no-nonsense guy who commands respect, communicates well with his players and staff but not necessarily the media and public.” (NY Post)

He adds that Gallant isn’t “necessarily known for bringing structure to a team” and that he “can coach prospects but cuts them little slack.” (NY Post)

Nick Kypreos said on his show that Gallant’s former players speak highly of him “he isn’t your buddy, he’s not your friend, he’s not a guy to chum up with you, but he is fair and honest and I think that has resonated internally with some people with the Rangers.”

Andre Mangiapane, who played for Gallant with Team Canada at the World Championships, said of Gallant “he is a great guy, wants the best for you, the best for the team and he wants to win and that is always great in a coach. He was a good coach for us, calmed us down when we needed to be calmed down, kind of laid back when he needed to be laid back and it made it easier for us to play, but if you messed up or take long shifts, he’ll let you know, which is rightfully so. He’s a good coach and whoever kind of lands him is going to be a lucky team.” (Ray and Dregs)

Darren Pang said on the NHL Network “Gerard Gallant is a different coach than David Quinn, they are different people, different in the way they approach the game and different when they look at you too. I’m looking at Gerard Gallant as a hockey person, old school hockey guy, all his best friends, all the guys you lean on, are guys he played with or guys that he played against in that era. He was a tough, rugged player, I played against him, I know him extremely well, I love the way he coaches, I’m shocked and surprised that franchises have dismissed him like they have. He just thinks hockey, that is what he does. You can throw numbers at him, some things, but at the end of the day he’s got a feel for a heart, a pulse, what you want to do, what kind of player you want, what kind of player you are, do you look into the eyes of the opposition and stare right through him or do you look away. He feels all those things, sees all those things, I think he is an excellent choice for the Rangers.”

Pang continued “This is a veteran established coach that likes certain players, so whatever you are going to do now, you’ve got the brain of Gerard Gallant as you move forward. Gerard Gallant has proven to be a great four-line coach, there is no fourth line in hockey that came out and played as hard and had as much confidence, and you can ask the Ryan Reaves and William Carrier of the Vegas Golden Knights which coach gave them the most confidence in their career, it’s Gerard Gallant. He would not put out his top players in an offensive zone faceoff late in a hockey game, instead, he kept the fourth line out, he gave them confidence, that is what he does, he gives people confidence. He isn’t afraid to kick you in the groin, punch you in the gut, but he’s also great at putting his arm around you and giving you a ‘lets’ go, I need you, let’s get er going.'”

Asked if Gallant is a players coach, Pang said “because of the way he played, there is a certain honor that Gerard Gallant or Rick Tocchet or Craig Berube, certain players, that played the game with great honor and great integrity and they did the little things so well and also appreciate that from third and fourth liners.”

Jamie McLennan said on TSN 1050 Toronto that Gallant is someone who “tells it like it is, but also knows when to kind of pull back on guys and knows what buttons to press on others.”

Brian Lawton said on the NHL Network “Gallant is known as a players coach, he endears himself to the top players. He did an excellent job in Florida, unceremoniously released, goes to Vegas, redeems himself….I think this is a good hire for the New York Rangers.”

Ken Daneyko said on the NHL Network “he’s an emotional guy, he’s an energetic guy and that is probably a good fit to get the most out of the Rangers roster that has a ton of talent and he’s a guy that you wanna run through a brick wall for as a player and in today’s game I think that is an important element, for sure. You hear players talk about him and say that they love playing for Gerard Gallant. The Rangers could use a little bit of a spark and for me, from the outside looking in, Gerard Gallant is that type of coach, a guy you want to play with emotion, play with energy and urgency.”

Pierre McGuire said on TSN 1050, “he’s always been very consistent with his message, a real gentleman with how he carries himself, the players do enjoy playing for him, there is no question, that is not to say they didn’t like playing for David Quinn, it’s a different experience level, Gerard has been in the NHL his whole life basically, outside of a couple of years coaching in the QMJHL, as a player and a coach. There is a huge experience factor there, an ability to relate to players. The fact that he helped take Vegas as an expansion team to the Stanley Cup Final is amazing to me, I’ve been around him a lot, I just love how he presents his message. I think this will help the Rangers, the biggest thing to me is that on paper they should be a playoff team next year and vastly improved and if they aren’t that is a problem, but I do think it’s a very good hire.”

Jaromir Jagr, who had success under Gallant with Florida, said that he thinks Gallant will fit in well with the Rangers and that the most important thing is “whether he can trust you as a player. That doesn’t have to do with age.” (NY Post)

Jagr added that Gallant doesn’t often change lines, he can relate to players because of his playing career, is “tough but friendly” and creates an “environment” where players want to play for you “and will do extra.” (NY Post)

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In each of his three stops as a Head Coach, Gallant has been fired during his third season.

In Columbus Gallant had a record of 56-76-4-6 and GM Doug MacLean was ordered to fire Gallant 15 games into the 2006-07 season. (The Athletic)

In the time between being fired by Columbus and being hired by Florida in 2014-15, Gallant was:

• 2007-08 to 2008-09: Assistant with the Islanders under Ted Nolan and then Scott Gordon
• 2009-10 to 2011-12: Head Coach with the Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL, winning the QMJHL Championship in 2010-11 and 2011-12 and the 2010-11 Memorial Cup.
• 2012-13 to 2013-14: Assistant coach with Montreal including their loss to the Rangers in the 2014 Eastern Conference Finals

In Florida Gallant was fired 22 games into the 2016-17 season and after the Panthers changed GMs from Dale Tallon, who hired Gallant, to Tom Rowe and Rowe brought a “different philosophy to the front office.” (Sun Sentinel)

Larry Brooks wrote that Gallant was fired in Florida after “a philosophical fallout with ownership.” (NY Post)

Doug MacLean said that when Gallant was in Florida “the minority owner and the analytics guys would sit together and they would be sending Gerard texts as to who to play with who from the press box. That is how it started…..and then it became a battle and Viola fired him.”

Gallant was the runner-up to the Jack Adams Award in 2015-16.

When Gallant was fired in 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. So that was what went into the decision. Like anything we do, we try to do what we genuinely believe is in the best interest of the Golden Knights organization, and that’s what we’ve done in this case.” (NHL.com)

Vegas owner Bill Foley said earlier this year that it was a “collective decision that was made over a period of time.”

Foley added “Turk is a great guy. He wasn’t what our particular situation needed to take us to the promised land and it became clear that he was not going to do that for us. He may do that for somebody else though, easily could, cause he’s really a genuine person. He’s real basic, a great hockey player, players love him, he’s really a players coach, but in our system, what we were trying to create, after about a year and a half or whatever period of time we all knew he wasn’t the right fit.” (Sinbin, Cam and Strick)