Gerard Gallant is off the market.
According to multiple sources, the former Vegas Golden Knights bench boss has reached an agreement to become the next head coach of the New York Rangers.
Larry Brooks of the New York Post was the first to break the news, and hockey insider Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic has since confirmed the report.
Source also confirming what @NYP_Brooksie first reported, Gerard Gallant will be the next head coach of the Rangers. https://t.co/0zNMDTI98v
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 14, 2021
Gallant was the first head coach in Golden Knights franchise history and went 118-75-20, good for a .601 winning percentage, in parts of three seasons before being fired on Jan. 15, 2020. He was replaced by then-Vegas nemesis Pete DeBoer, who had been fired by San Jose a month earlier.
It was a stunning dismissal given Gallant’s unprecedented success; it came at the tail end of a four-game losing streak, though the Knights had won the previous four and were just three points out of first place in the division at the time.
A year before, Gallant guided an unassuming Knights roster to the best inaugural season of a major sports franchise in the expansion era, smashing nearly every record along the way. Vegas blew all expectations out of the water by winning the Pacific Division with 109 points and storming all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, ultimately losing to the Washington Capitals in five games.
Gallant was the recipient of the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year.
He led the Knights to a second straight postseason appearance the following year, though Vegas blew a 3-1 lead to San Jose and lost in an infamous Game 7 that resulted in NHL rule changes as well as a rare apology from the league.
The Knights struggled on and off in Year 3, largely due to underwhelming goaltending as well as an inability to finish. But after starting 11-11-4, it seemed as though the Knights had turned the corner by going 13-4-2, capped off by a four-game winning streak. However, the Knights lost the next four, including a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Sabres on Jan. 14. Though the Knights had completely outplayed Buffalo, Vegas announced the coaching change the following day.
Seventeen months later, Gallant finds himself back in the game.
Turk has an all-time record of 270-216-51 with four ties (.550) in 541 NHL games for Columbus, Florida and Vegas. He has an 18-15 record in 33 playoff games, including going 16-11 (.593) with the Knights.
The 57-year-old recently led Canada to a gold medal at the world championship and has been a highly sought-after coaching candidate.
He was rumored to be a possible target for the expansion Seattle Kraken; after all, he took a group of misfits in Vegas and helped shape it into a perennial contender.
Instead, he will join an Original Six team with a rich history spanning nearly 100 years.
The Rangers were granted permission by Vegas to interview Gallant in mid-May prior to the world championship. New York was seeking a head coach with experience to replace David Quinn, whom the Rangers fired May 12 at the conclusion of the 2020-21 season.
Gallant will be the 36th coach of the storied franchise.