Gerard Gallant

At 61 years old, Gerard Gallant has this physical status:

Gerard Gallant (born September 2, 1963) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former player.

He is currently the head coach for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Early life

Gallant was born in Prince Edward Island, Summerside. He grew up near a local ice cream store and was often found sweeping the stands with his buddies in exchange for additional ice time. Gallant has had the name "turk" since he was three or four years old. Gallant said that a lot of the guys called him "spuddy" when he first entered the league, owing to Prince Edward Island's fame as Canada's potato capital.

He scored 60 goals and 115 points in just 45 games while playing for the Summerside Crystals of the Maritime Junior A Hockey League at the age of 16.

Gallant's junior years spent time in Quebec's Big Junior Hockey League: the Sherbrooke Castors (1980–82), the St. Jean Beavers (1982–83), and the Verdun Juniors (1982–83). Gallant spent his remaining years as team captain during his senior year.

Gallant finished second in the QMJHL's voting for 1980–81 Michel Bergeron Trophy, his first junior season in 1981.

Personal life

Melissa and Jason's parents, Gallant and his partner, Pam, are the parents of two children. Melissa Boyce, a former professional hockey player, has married Darryl Boyce. Jason spent four seasons with the MJAHL's Summerside Western Capitals and now coaches youth hockey.

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Playing career

Gallant was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft, sixth round, 107th overall.

Gallant made his AHL debut with the Adirondack Red Wings in 1983. He was the youngest regular on the roster at the age of 19. In 77 games, he played for the complete 1983–84 season in the minor leagues, scoring 31 goals, 64 points, and 195 penalty minutes.

Gallant played for both AHL and NHL from 1984 to 1985, making his Detroit Red Wings debut against the New York Islanders on January 22, 1985. In his first game, he scored against Islanders goaltender Billy Smith in the second half of a 5–4 Detroit victory that snapped a 12-game Red Wings winless streak. He defeated Rangers' forward Bob Brooke in his second game.

Gallant played for the Red Wings from 1985 to 1986. During a December 11 game against the Minnesota North Stars, however, he sustained a fractured jaw during a match with Dirk Graham. Gallant's jaw had to be wired-shut for six weeks, causing him to miss six weeks of games. When he returned, he wore a football-style face mask on his helmet. He played in 52 games, scoring 20 goals and 106 penalty minutes, finishing in 39 games. Gallant was injured during a game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Red Wings in Detroit on November 26, 1986. Gallant mistakenly cut the face of Börje Salming with his skate blade when Salming had been knocked down. Salming's face needed facial surgery and more than two hundred stitches.

Gallant's career flourished after Jacques Demers was hired as the Red Wings head coach in 1986. He averaged 36 goals, 80 points, and 235 penalty minutes in his first four seasons. Although he never participated in the All-Star Game, he was selected to the NHL All Star Second Team for the 1988–89 NHL season.

Gallant missed more than 30 games during the 1990–91 NHL season due to injuries, mainly to his back. In March 1991, he was compelled to have surgery to remove a bone spur from his back, causing him to miss the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs. Gallant played for the Wings in 1991–92 and 1992–93 seasons. He met his physical appearance and finished with a +16 and +20 plus/minus rating; however, he was unable to recap his scoring success, and the Wings did not give him a contract to return.

Gallant became a free agent with the Tampa Bay Lightning on July 22, 1993. He appeared in 51 games with the Lightning in 1993–94, as well as 16 games with the Atlanta Knights, the Lightning's top farm team in the International Hockey League.

Gallant signed as a free agent with the Detroit Vipers of the IHL on October 23, 1995, and he was off to a promising start with two goals and an assist in three games. However, on November 5, 1995, he sustained a career-ending back injury in practice and was forced to resign at the age of 32. Gallant, a left winger for the Red Wings and Lightning, scored 211 goals in 615 games during his NHL career. He also scored 18 points in a playoff game.

Coaching career

Gallant began his teaching career in 1995–96 with his hometown Summerside Capitals of the Maritime Junior Hockey League, leading the team to the Royal Bank Cup in 1997.

Gallant then transitioned to higher education, serving as an assistant coach for the Fort Wayne Komets of the IHL in 1998. Joe Paterson, a former teammate of Gallant's in Detroit, spent the 1999–2000 season as an assistant for the Louisville Panthers of the AHL.

Gallant served as an assistant for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the NHL from 2001 to 2004, under head coach Dave King and Doug MacLean. At the 1989 World Ice Hockey Championships, King served as Gallant's head coach for Team Canada. MacLean had been an assistant coach with the Red Wings in the early 1990s. MacLean, the Blue Jackets' general manager, resigned as head coach on January 1, 2004, and Gallant was named as his replacement. Dean Blais, a veteran college hockey coach, filled Gallant's assistant position. Gallant was the head coach of the Blue Jackets for the remainder of the 2003-2004 season, from 2004–05, the NHL lockout, and a portion of the 2006–07 season. Gallant was suspended as head coach on November 13, 2006, and assistant Gary Agnew was added to replace him for five games. On November 22, 2006, the Blue Jackets signed Ken Hitchcock as a full-time coach.

Gallant was appointed as one of the two assistant coaches for the 2007 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships by Team Canada general manager Steve Yzerman in 2007. Gallant aided the Canadian team in winning the championship and gold medal categories.

Gallant spent time with the New York Islanders as an assistant coach from 2007–08 and 2008–09. Ted Nolan, the Islanders' head coach, had been a mentor of Gallant's on the Adirondack Red Wings in 1983.

Gallant was named head coach of the Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL on April 24, 2009. He compiled a 159-34-9 record and led the Sea Dogs to three first-place finishes, three league championship appearances, two QMJHL championships (2011 and 2012) and one Memorial Cup (2011). Gallant was also named QMJHL and Canadian Hockey League Coach of the Year twice (2010 and 2011).

Gallant returned to the NHL on June 15, 2012, after being hired as assistant coach for the Montreal Canadiens under Michel Therrien. Marc Bergevin, the Canadiens' general manager, had been a Gallant's teammate with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1990s.

Dale Tallon, then-executive vice president and general manager, was named head coach of the NHL's Florida Panthers on June 21, 2014. He led the Panthers to a record of 38 victories, 29 losses, 5 overtime losses, and ten shootout losses for 91 points in his first season. The record was an improvement of 9 wins and 25 points over the previous season. Gallant led the upstart Panthers to a 24–12–4 record at the All-Star break in 2015–16, earning him a spot as the head coach for the Atlantic Division All-Stars. The Panthers won by a club-record 47 victories and 103 points, enough for their second division title in franchise history. Gallant was selected as a finalist for the Jack Adams Award for his efforts. Gallant was fired by new Panthers general manager Tom Rowe on November 27, 2016 after putting up an 11-0-1 record to begin the season.

Gallant was named as the first head coach of the Vegas Golden Knights on April 13, 2017.

Gallant led the Golden Knights to one of the most profitable debut seasons for an expansion team in North American major professional sports history. Gallant will head the Pacific Division All-Stars in the 2018 NHL All-Star Game on January 3, 2018. The Golden Knights set the NHL record for most victories (344) by an expansion franchise in league history on February 1, 2018. In only 50 games played, the mark was set. On March 31, the Central Division clinched the Pacific Division, becoming the first true expansion squad in the four major sports to do so (not counting all-expansion divisions). Gallant was nominated for the Jack Adams Award for the second time on April 25, 2018. The Golden Knights advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals under Bruce's direction, losing in five games to the Washington Capitals.

Gallant will help the Golden Knights win their second playoff appearance in 2019, after losing in the Western Conference First Round to the San Jose Sharks.

Gallant was fired by the Golden Knights on January 15, 2020, after a four-game losing streak. Peter DeBoer was later named the second head coach in franchise history. In a public press conference during Vegas' first-round playoff series against the San Jose Sharks (whom DeBoer coached at the time) the previous year, Gallant had called DeBoer a "clown."

Gallant was named head coach of Team Canada for the 2021 IIHF World Championship on April 28, 2021. Team Canada defeated Team Finland 3-2 in sudden death overtime to win the gold medal for the second time in the tournament, marking Canada's 27th world championship after a rough start to the season.

Gallant was appointed as the head coach of the New York Rangers on June 16, 2021, replacing David Quinn.

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