Vegas Golden Knights: Trying to make sense of an absolute bombshell

In a week of bombshells being dropped on the sporting landscape, the Vegas Golden Knights decided to get in on the act by pulling the trigger on a stunning coaching change today.

After dropping a fourth straight loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night, the Vegas Golden Knights responded by removing Head Coach Gerard Gallant from his position, as well as Assistant Coach Mike Kelly.

And, in the same foul swoop, Vegas General Manager Kelly McCrimmon also announced the appointment of Peter DeBoer as the second Head Coach in franchise history.

DeBoer was of course the Head Coach of the San Jose Sharks, the bitter rivals of the Knights with the hatred between the two franchises reaching boiling point in the playoffs last year.

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From Gallant calling DeBoer a clown to the Knights being on the wrong end of that controversial five-minute major call in Game 7 of the First Round, there was certainly no love lost between the two parties.

That certainly added another wrinkle to today’s announcement with some Vegas fans not thrilled at the prospect of DeBoer now being behind the home bench at T-Mobile Arena.

However, the majority of us are just stunned and lost for words at the fact that Gallant is now out of a job.

Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised given that seven coaches have now lost their jobs in the NHL this season following Gallant’s dismissal.

But, when you look at Gallant’s body of work with the Golden Knights, you can’t but help scratch your head.

After all, Gallant brought a group of castoffs together, cultivated a strong culture in the locker room and squeezed every inch of potential out of every player at his disposal.

That led to a stunning and historic run to the Stanley Cup Final in Vegas’ inaugural year, before Gallant led his team to the postseason again in 2018-19.

Granted, the Golden Knights suffered a disappointing First Round exit last year and they haven’t been playing at the peak of their powers so far this year.

A tough loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night was their fourth in a row, knocking them out of a playoff berth in an incredibly competitive Pacific Division.

But, a couple of things here, there is still a lot of hockey to be played and Vegas has the weapons and the tools required to make the playoffs.

And, secondly, this team does have flaws including a lack of secondary scoring and a less than stellar defense, but is that really on Gerard Gallant?

After all, Gallant doesn’t buy the ingredients – that is the job of the General Manager – he just tries to cook the best meal he can with what he’s got in-front of him.

The Knights insist that this decision was just performance-related but this seems like a clear panic move if ever I’ve seen one.

Especially when you consider that the Knights ranked high in the NHL in a number of underlying stats, suggesting that it was only a matter of time until this team figured it out and hit their groove.

Whatever happens, though, Gallant can leave with his head held high after carving out a 118-75-20 record in his two-and-a-half-seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights, leading them to a Stanley Cup Final, two playoff appearances and winning the Jack Adams Award for the Best Coach in the NHL in the process in 2017-18.

However, life must go on and the Golden Knights will now look to march on in their pursuit of winning the Stanley Cup under Peter DeBoer.

Say what you want about DeBoer but you can’t dispute his resume, which includes two trips to the Stanley Cup Final and a record of 415-329-111.

He also knows the Pacific Division inside out and, as a result, DeBoer will also have the inside track on this Vegas roster as it is currently constituted, so that should help him to hit the ground running.

Okay, so DeBoer has never reached the mountain top but maybe with this roster the veteran coach can finally cross that finishing line.

He will probably receive some shiny new toys at the Trade Deadline with this team in need of secondary scoring and a top-four defenseman, but DeBoer will have an abundance of talent at his disposal.

With all the knowledge we are armed with right now, this screams of a panic move but Peter DeBoer is the new sheriff in town now and it will be up to him to get the best out of this roster and lead them to a Stanley Cup.

This bombshell of a news drop will take awhile to unpack and dissect, but this is the new reality now for the Vegas Golden Knights and life under Peter DeBoer starts this minute.