Gerard Gallant is not Pleased with Rumours he's Getting Fired
The head coach of the New York Rangers has heard the rumours that he's being replaced, and he's not at all happy about them. Gerard Gallant met with members of the media today to answer questions about his team's season and getting eliminated in game 7 of their round one NHL playoff series against the New Jersey Devils. Gallant blamed reporters for starting the word that he's getting canned.
Gallant first defended his last two seasons as coach of the Rangers.
Like I just said, I think we've averaged 108 points over two years. I think that was excellent. We had a great first season. We lost to the Stanley Cup defending champions in the semi finals. This year, we lost in the first round."
"If I can't stand by my record and what I've done, I think there's something wrong."
"If I can't stand by my record and what I've done, I think there's something wrong."
He then went on to criticize the media for the dismissal rumours.
"So, did I have a tough two weeks, did we have a tough two weeks? Yeah. But besides that, I can't believe I have to answer some of these questions about me getting fired, brought up by the media. Disappointing."
The rumours came to light recently in reports by TSN's Darren Dreger and ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. Both have stated that chatter around Gallant getting fired started even before game 7 came about. It may not be so much about Gallant's record as it is that New York appears to have a chance of landing famed head coach Joel Quenneville.
Quenneville has not coached since 2021, when he resigned from the Florida Panthers after meeting with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman regarding Quenneville's role in the Kyle Beach incident in Chicago.
Bettman said at that time that Quenneville would need to be reinstated by him personally before he could coach in the NHL again, and it looks like the Rangers may be asking him to do just that.
Gallant isn't necessarily wrong regarding his results. Game 7 results aside, the Rangers have placed 2nd and 3rd in the Metropolitan Division over the past two seasons. However, the chance of grabbing a three-time Stanley Cup winning coach might be too good to pass up.
| POLL | ||
MAI 3 | 561 ANSWERS Gerard Gallant is not Pleased with Rumours he's Getting Fired Should Gallant get another season as head coach of the Rangers? | ||
| Yes, he's great | 313 | 55.8 % |
| No, time to move on | 153 | 27.3 % |
| Not sure | 95 | 16.9 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
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