Vegas Hockey Knight
Fansided

Were the Vegas Golden Knights influenced by the Blues?

By Andrew Steele-Davis

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JUNE 12: Craig Berube holds the Stanley Cup following the Blues victory over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on June 12, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JUNE 12: Craig Berube holds the Stanley Cup following the Blues victory over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on June 12, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

There appears to be an interesting trend developing in the NHL and the Vegas Golden Knights were the latest team to jump on the bandwagon.

In case you were living under a rock last week, the Vegas Golden Knights sent shockwaves throughout the hockey world by firing Head Coach Gerard Gallant and replacing him with Peter DeBoer.

Despite leading this team to the Stanley Cup Final during their inaugural year and winning the Jack Adams Trophy as a result, not to mention two postseason trips in two years, Gallant found himself out of a job.

The exact reasons for the firing are still not clear but the move had panic written all over it and it will now be down to DeBoer to try and bring a championship to Sin City.

More from Vegas Hockey Knight

But, let’s stick with Gallant and last week’s bombshell news for now.

Because, did the Vegas Golden Knights attempt to copy a blueprint that seems to be becoming a hot trend in the NHL?

What are we talking about? Good question.

Let us explain.

Last year, with the St. Louis Blues plumping badly out of the gate, the front office pulled the trigger on a bold move by firing Mike Yeo and replacing him with Craig Berube.

And, although Berube’s hiring didn’t spark an immediate turnaround, things began to click into place after Christmas as the Blues surged from dead last in the NHL to winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history.

An incredible turnaround.

You can go back a few years ago too and look at the Pittsburgh Penguins, who binned Mike Johnston before replacing him with Mike Sullivan on Dec. 12, 2015.

That move also reaped instant success as the Penguins clinched the Stanley Cup that summer, before defending their crown the following year.

So, with a fairly lengthy sample size to go on, it is perhaps fair to suggest that the Vegas Golden Knights front office looked at the Blues and the Penguins and drew inspiration from how their coaching changes panned out.

After all, the Golden Knights are in win now mode and, after what was an inconsistent first-half of the regular season, maybe General Manager Kelly McCrimmon and President of Hockey Operations George McPhee felt pressured to make a change.

You can’t sack 20 or so players, so canning the Head Coach is the next logical step.

And, it is worth remembering that the Golden Knights are in a much better position than the Blues were when they made a change behind the bench.

Just one point off the top of the Pacific Division, the Knights are in prime position to go on an absolute tear down the stretch and win the division.

GLENDALE, ARIZONA – JANUARY 12: Head coach Mike Sullivan of the Pittsburgh Penguins watches from the bench during the second period of the NHL game against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on January 12, 2020 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, ARIZONA – JANUARY 12: Head coach Mike Sullivan of the Pittsburgh Penguins watches from the bench during the second period of the NHL game against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on January 12, 2020 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

They have a future Hall of Famer in Marc-Andre Fleury in net, a potent top six forward unit and a blueliner in Shea Theodore who is carving out a career year.

It would be a shock too if the front office didn’t use the Trade Deadline to bolster the blueline and maybe bring in some help in order to spark the secondary scoring into life.

However, you can’t help but think that what the Blues achieved last year after changing their coach alerted General Managers across the NHL landscape.

We do live in a ‘what did you do for me lately’ culture, and it is fair to suggest that Gerard Gallant became a victim of that, in addition to all the early success enjoyed by the Golden Knights.

Therefore, it is hard not to look at what the Blues and the Penguins achieved after making a drastic change and think that other teams in the NHL will use that as a blueprint going forward, including the Golden Knights.

Players aren’t built like they are used to be and the same voice in the locker room can get stale pretty quickly.

I’m not saying that’s what happened with Gerard Gallant, but I do think the front office maybe had the St. Louis Blues and their incredible success last year in mind when making the decision to pull the trigger on bringing in a new Head Coach.

If Peter DeBoer turns out to be the saving grace and he leads the Vegas Golden Knights to the promised land this year, then maybe firing coaches at the midway point and bringing in a fresh voice will officially become a new trend in the NHL.

Next. Could the Canucks be a serious threat?. dark

And, if that happens, then the Pittsburgh Penguins and the St. Louis Blues should be considered the official face of the movement.

Home/Editorials