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Vegas Golden Knights: Three reasons Gallant firing was strange

By Andrew Steele-Davis

GLENDALE, ARIZONA - OCTOBER 10: Head coach Gerard Gallant of the Vegas Golden Knights watches from the bench during the second period of the NHL game against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on October 10, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, ARIZONA - OCTOBER 10: Head coach Gerard Gallant of the Vegas Golden Knights watches from the bench during the second period of the NHL game against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on October 10, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – JUNE 20: Head Coach Gerard Gallant of the Vegas Golden Knights poses for a portrait with the Jack Adams Award at the 2018 NHL Awards at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on June 20, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – JUNE 20: Head Coach Gerard Gallant of the Vegas Golden Knights poses for a portrait with the Jack Adams Award at the 2018 NHL Awards at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on June 20, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images) /

1. What have you done for me lately?

First and foremost, Gerard Gallant was the man responsible for bringing together a group of castoffs and turning them into a contender.

Handed a mixed bag of ingredients, Gallant effectively turned chicken feathers into chicken soup and he played a key role in the Golden Knights making history.

From leading this team to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural year to taking the team to the postseason again in their sophomore year, Gallant deserves a lot of praise for how he coached this team.

Go and look through the history books and the vast majority of expansion teams in any of the major sports normally struggle early on, but that wasn’t the case with the Golden Knights and a lot of that is down to Gallant.

After all, Gallant was a Jack Adams Award winner just two years ago but, fast forward to now, and he’s out of a job.

Granted, this team haven’t lived up to expectations this season but, and we’ll get on this shortly, you can’t lay all the blame at Gallant’s feet.

Injuries, a flawed roster, poor goaltending and certain players enduring down years have combined for the perfect storm when it comes to the Vegas Golden Knights slumping.

However, Gallant made this team relevant, he carved out a 118-75-20 record and he took this team to the 2017 Stanley Cup Final, shocking the hockey world in the process.

If that resume can’t buy you some loyalty then nothing will.

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