Thinking back to the Vegas Golden Knights' magical 2018 Stanley Cup Final run, they were clicking on all cylinders up to the Final. They got excellent goaltending from Marc-Andre Fleury and played a suffocating defensive style that took away high-danger chances. That led to the greatest expansion run in the NHL's history, leaving people in shock and awe.
The man behind that run was none other than Gerard Gallant. He won the Jack Adams Award in 2018 and the Scotty Bowman Award from The Hockey News in that same year. Ironically, he only tasted the postseason once before joining the Golden Knights. That was in 2015-16, when he led the Panthers to the Atlantic Division and a playoff matchup against the New York Islanders.
The first two seasons were absolute vibes. Playoff appearances in both campaigns and a Stanley Cup Final appearance in the inaugural season led to some security. But it was the third season that everything unraveled, and I mean unraveled. The Golden Knights fired him after a 24-19-6 campaign (54 points) and ultimately brought in the guy who beat him the year prior.
Ouch.
But let's hop into the alternate universe machine one last time and see what would've happened if he stuck around for the remainder of the 2019-20 season. What would've gone down if he held his job just a little longer?
What would've happened if the Vegas Golden Knights didn't fire Gerard Gallant?
You know, I originally said that the Golden Knights would've missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. But the 2020 playoffs were... a little different. You see, COVID-19 had an iron grip on everything we did, including the Stanley Cup playoffs.
You see, the rules changed with more teams coming into play. There was a qualifying round put into place that would've given the Golden Knights a second wind. Sure, it would've meant that they would've missed the next round (possibly). But the playoffs are the playoffs, I guess?
Anyway, the Golden Knights would've been on the cusp of missing the Stanley Cup playoffs. It would've sparked massive rumors that the team was falling apart from their shocking Stanley Cup Final run in 2018. More fans would've delighted in seeing this happen today. But it would've led to the biggest letdown in Las Vegas, especially after the team almost pulled off a miracle for a reeling city.
Gallant's style and stubbornness were simply too much for the Golden Knights to handle
The biggest complaint surrounding Gallant's legacy was that he didn't make too many line changes. He consistently left the same lineups out in key playoff series, whether it was against the Washington Capitals or the San Jose Sharks. The result? These teams picked up on the weaknesses in these lineups and heavily targeted them.
As a result, it was merely inevitable that Gallant was going to be canned. A lack of flexibility combined with a harsh style that grated on the younger players meant the team completely tuned him out. It also meant that the team's window would've closed sooner than expected.
Take this season's Stanley Cup Final run as a perfect example. The players ultimately tuned out Bruce Cassidy before he was relieved of his duties. The Golden Knights were also on the cusp of missing the playoffs that season before McCrimmon pulled the trigger. Gotta give thanks to John Tortorella for that, even with the media fiasco, eh?
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