Since Sheldon Keefe took the fall for yet another Toronto Maple Leafs early exit from the playoffs at the hands of the Boston Bruins, all eyes have been on the city to see who will get the head coach role. Yesterday, Sportsnet’s Luke Fox reported on X (Formerly Twitter) that one of the possible candidates, Gerard Gallant, had not been interviewed yet. Meanwhile, according to Elliotte Friedman on his 32 Thoughts podcast, Craig Bérubé has been interviewed for the position.
There’s never a dull moment in Toronto.
Gallant’s Playing Career
A native of Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Gallant spent 11 seasons playing at left wing in the NHL. He split his time between the Detroit Red Wings (nine years) and the Tampa Bay Lightning (2 years) with whom he signed as a free agent. After playing with the Lightning, he signed with the International Hockey League’s Detroit Vipers. His career was unfortunately cut short when he was forced to retire after only three games because of a serious back injury. He played 615 games in the NHL gathering 480 points and 1674 penalty minutes.
Gallant’s Coaching Career
Three years after pulling the plug on his playing career, Gallant jumped on the coaching horse. He started at the bottom of the ladder as an assistant with the Fort Wayne Komets in the IHL. The next season he was an assistant coach with the American Hockey League’s Louisville Panthers. Then, he got his first NHL job behind a bench with the Columbus Blue Jackets as an assistant. He stayed in the role for three years before being appointed head coach in 2003-2004. He was the Blue Jackets’ bench boss for parts of three seasons before being dismissed. He then acted as an assistant with the New York Islanders.
Beginning in 2009, Gallant spent three seasons controlling the Quebec Major Junior League’s (as it was then called) Saint John Sea Dogs, where he had great success. His team lost in the final in his first season behind the bench but won the league’s championships for the next two seasons. He also led his men to a conquest of the Memorial Cup (the Canadian championship) in his second season at the helm (2010-2011). In that same campaign, he was named QMJHL coach of the year.
In June 2012, he returned to the NH as an assistant coach with the Montreal Canadiens who had hired Michel Therrien as the head coach. Gallant didn’t stay an assistant for very long, he was hired as the Florida Panthers’ head coach before the 2014-2015 season. He guided the Panthers for two years and was fired 22 games into the 2016-2017 season. It was firing that made the headlines as he was fired while on a road trip and he was ditched there, forced to call a taxi. Gallant clarified the situation a few days later, saying they had made a service call, but he didn’t want to wait.
Related: Gerard Gallant Fired & Other News
Gallant had two more stops on his NHL itinerary, including a three-year stint with the Vegas Golden Knights, whom he took to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season. He was dismissed 49 games in the third season about six months after winning the Jack Adams Award, awarded to the best coach each season.
Vegas replaced him with former San Jose Sharks coach Peter DeBoer, whose team had eliminated the Knights in the first round of the previous playoffs. Finally, he was hired by the New York Rangers where he spent two seasons before mutually agreeing to part ways with the team after a first-round elimination in the 2023 playoffs. ESPN reported then that player feedback received in exit interviews was a factor in the decision.
What Can We Read Into the Situation?
Now 60 years old, Gallant is looking for a new NHL home and the spots are few and far between. He cannot be happy about this missed opportunity. His departure from the Rangers led many to conclude he couldn’t handle young guys like Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere properly. When he was hired by New York before the 2021 season he was quoted on the Rangers website as 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, correct me if I’m wrong, but making their gifted players play in a tougher manner is part of the issues the Maple Leafs have been facing. Furthermore, this type of change does not happen overnight, and you need someone who isn’t worried about rolling up his sleeves and getting his hands dirty. What the Maple Leafs need is someone in between Mike Babcock, who was too tough, and Keefe, who was quite a players’ coach. Does that mean Gallant can be this middle-ground option? No, it doesn’t, and if the Maple Leafs have decided not to meet him as reported by Sportsnet, there must be a reason. After all, teams talk to each other and are privy to all kinds of information that the people on the outside looking in have no idea about.