Ever since Sheldon Keefe was fired for the Toronto Maple Leafs’ early playoff departure due to a loss to the Boston Bruins, everyone in the city has been watching to see who will take over as head coach.
Sportsnet’s Luke Fox revealed yesterday on X (formerly Twitter) that Gerard Gallant, one of the potential possibilities, had not yet undergone an interview. Meanwhile, Craig Bérubé has been interviewed for the job, according to Elliotte Friedman on his 32 Thoughts podcast.
In Toronto, there’s never a dull moment.
The Playing Career of Gallant
Gallant, a Summerside, Prince Edward Island native, played left wing in the NHL for eleven seasons. He played for nine years with the Detroit Red Wings and two years as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He signed with the Detroit Vipers of the International Hockey League after playing with the Lightning. Unfortunately, a catastrophic back injury forced him to retire after just three games, ending his career. In 615 NHL games, he scored 480 points and racked up 1674 penalty minutes.
Gallant’s Career as a Coach
Gallant got on the coaching bandwagon three years after ending his playing career. As an assistant with the Fort Wayne Komets in the IHL, he began his career from the bottom of the ladder. He was an assistant coach with the Louisville Panthers of the American Hockey League the following season. Then, he was hired by the Columbus Blue Jackets as an assistant behind the bench for his first NHL position. After serving in that capacity for three years, he was named head coach for the 2003–04 season. Before being fired, he oversaw the Blue Jackets’ bench for a portion of three seasons. After that, he worked as an assistant for the Islanders of New York.
Gallant enjoyed tremendous success as the manager of the Saint John Sea Dogs, a franchise of the Quebec Major Junior League, during his three seasons there starting in 2009. In his first season in the dugout, his team was defeated in the pennant but went on to win two league titles. In his second season in charge, he guided his team to victory in the Memorial Cup, which is the Canadian championship (2010–2011). He was recognized as the QMJHL coach of the year for that same campaign.
He rejoined the NH in June 2012, this time as an assistant coach with the newly promoted Montreal Canadiens under Michel Therrien’s leadership. Before the 2014–2015 season, Gallant was appointed as the head coach of the Florida Panthers, therefore he didn’t stay an assistant for very long. After leading the Panthers for two seasons, he was let go 22 games into the 2016–17 campaign. The news was dominated by his firing, which occurred while he was traveling and left him stranded, forcing him to hail a cab. A few days later, Gallant addressed the matter, stating that they had made a service call but he didn’t want to wait.
During his three-year tenure with the Vegas Golden Knights, whom he led to the Stanley Cup Final in their first season, Gallant had two more destinations on his NHL itinerary. About six months after earning the Jack Adams Award, which is given to the greatest coach each season, he was benched for 49 games in the third season.
Peter DeBoer, a former coach of the San Jose Sharks whose team had defeated the Knights in the opening round of the previous playoffs, took over Las Vegas in his place. After two seasons after mutually deciding to part ways following the team’s first-round elimination in the 2023 playoffs, he was finally hired by the New York Rangers. ESPN said at the time that the decision was influenced by athlete input from departure interviews.
How Do We Interpret the Circumstance?
There aren’t many opportunities for 60-year-old Gallant to find a new NHL home. He is unable to feel good about this lost chance. Many concluded after his departure from the Rangers that he was incompetent at managing young players like Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko. He was mentioned on the Rangers website following his hiring by New York prior to the 2021 season, saying:
I think every player, every fan watches the games right now says that they need to be harder. I don’t know what the Rangers in the past what they did, I saw that night with Wilson and the next night the Rangers responded in a perfect manner, they stepped up and they did the right things for their team, but I think everybody knows that if you are going to be in the battle in the playoffs you are going to have to play harder, compete harder and be ready for every game. I’ve coached teams in Vegas and Florida and when we went to the playoffs and everybody steps it up a notch. There are all kinds of Rangers players that step it up a notch in playoffs, I don’t see any issue with that, each player will play more physical and we will see what the offseason brings and when me and Chris sit down and talk about players and who knows what free agency brings. You don’t worry about that, you worry about the team you got and see if you can make it better.
Now tell me if I’m wrong, but one of the problems the Maple Leafs have been having is forcing their talented players to play harder. Moreover, this kind of transformation takes time, so you need someone who doesn’t mind getting their hands dirty and rolling up their sleeves. The Maple Leafs require a coach in between Keefe, who was a great player-coach, and Mike Babcock, who was too strict. Does that imply that Gallant could be this go-between? No, it doesn’t, and there has to be a reason if the Maple Leafs, as Sportsnet reported, have chosen not to meet him.
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