Vegas Golden Knights: Gallant a perfect fit for Detroit or Seattle

Some are still reeling from the shocking events of a couple of weeks ago that saw the Vegas Golden Knights fire Head Coach Gerard Gallant out of the blue.

It was a bombshell decision that sent shockwaves through the hockey world, with the Vegas Golden Knights opting for a fresh start under Peter DeBoer as their new bench boss.

Weeks have passed since that shocking turn of events and DeBoer has three games under his belt as Head Coach of the Golden Knights, but exactly why Gallant was let go is still not clear.

Maybe we will never know but one thing is for clear and that is the fact that Gerard Gallant is a very good Head Coach in the National Hockey League.

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And that’s why two teams in particular should be on the phone to the 56-year-old right now.

The two teams we are referring to you ask?

The Detroit Red Wings and the Seattle franchise.

Both would make perfect sense and you only need to look at Gallant’s track record with the Vegas Golden Knights to figure out why.

He took charge of an expansion team in a city that many felt wasn’t suited for hockey, and was given a collection of castoffs and misfits from the 30 other teams in the NHL.

It would have been a daunting task for anyone, let alone a coach who was trying to rebuild his reputation after being unceremoniously canned by the Florida Panthers.

But, with a future Hall of Famer goalie in Marc-Andre Fleury in which to build around, Gallant cultivated a tight-nit and unbreakable culture in the locker room before proceeding to create a contender.

He helped to nurture and develop William Karlsson, transforming the forward from a bottom six grinder into an elite two-way forward in the span of just one year.

Gallant also helped to unlock the potential of the likes of Reilly Smith and Jonathan Marchessault, while giving new life to David Perron, Deryk Engelland and giving young talents in the ilk of Shea Theodore the best possible platform on which to carve out success in the NHL.

All of the above led to a stunning and historic run to the Stanley Cup Final in Vegas’ inaugural year, leading to Gallant winning the Jack Adams Trophy as Coach of the Year.

Gallant also took the Golden Knights to the postseason in their second year, and he probably would have done it a third time had he been given a stay of execution.

But, the Golden Knights’ loss could be the gain of the Seattle franchise or the Detroit Red Wings, so let’s make a case for each team.

Seattle

Yet to reveal their branding and an official team name, the Seattle franchise probably won’t be in a position to announce a Head Coach anytime soon.

However, if I was General Manager Ron Francis then I would be picking up the phone to Gerard Gallant now and making a pitch to the former Vegas Bench Boss.

After all, who is better equipped to lead an expansion team into NHL action than Gallant, who has been there, done it and got the jersey with the Golden Knights.

Granted, the Seattle franchise probably won’t strike it as lucky in the Expansion Draft as the Knights did in 2017, but there will be plenty of talented players and unpolished gems up for grabs in 2021.

Gallant has a proven track record when it comes to bringing together a group of new players and forging them into a contender and, although Seattle may not be quite the success story Vegas was, they would at least be competitive in their first couple of years with Gallant behind the bench.

Gerard Gallant has established himself as a program builder in addition to being an excellent X’s and O’s coach, and hiring him would be a no-brainer for Seattle.

Detroit Red Wings

This is an intriguing one.

And, it is perhaps fair to argue that if Detroit came calling then all bets would be off given that Gerard Gallant spent the vast majority of his NHL career with the Red Wings.

Gallant recorded 467 points (207 goals, 260 assists) in 563 regular season games for Detroit, while he also wore the “A” on his jersey for the majority of his time in the Motor City.

So, it isn’t hard to guess that Gallant will share a pretty special bond with the Red Wings and most coaches would jump at the chance to coach an Original Six Franchise.

Plus, Gallant spent eight seasons as a teammate to Steve Yzerman, who is now of course the General Manager of the Red Wings.

Could that relationship come into play here?

Yzerman is known for building a formidable team in Tampa, transforming the Lightning from a laughing stock to one of the premier franchises in hockey.

He likes stability and he would get that in Gallant who is a steady presence and is extremely liked and well-respected by his players.

Like Seattle, Detroit and Gallant could be a match made in heaven given what the Red Wings are going through right now.

Quite clearly tanking, Yzerman is in the process of stamping his blueprints on this franchise in order to restore them to the glory days.

They will have one of the top picks in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, while they have some promising prospects in the pipeline.

Furthermore, as bad as they have been this year, and they have been bad (12-35-4), the Red Wings do boast some cornerstone pieces in the ilk of Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi and Anthony Mantha.

Yzerman knows how to build a winner too so he will stockpile talent and prospects, so this could be perfect for Gallant if he has the desire to help build something from the ground floor up.

If that is the case, then it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if Gallant becomes the new Head Coach of the Detroit Red Wings in the summer.

Whatever happens, though, I don’t think it will be too long until Gerard Gallant is back where he belongs and that is behind an NHL bench.