New York Rangers former head coach Gerard Gallant has left for the KHL. The Shanghai Dragons announced today that they have signed Gallant as the 10th coach in franchise history. Gallant coached the Rangers from 2021-2023, sporting a 99-46-19 record and two playoff appearances. The Rangers posted the fifth-best point percentage in the NHL in that timeframe.
The former Jack Adams winner spent 11 years coaching in the NHL, coaching the Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers, Vegas Golden Knights and the Rangers. In that time, he put together a 369-262-4-70 record.
Gallant joins the Shanghai Dragons, formally known as the Kunlun Red Star. He’s joined by long-time assistant coach Mike Kelly, who worked alongside Gallant with the Panthers, Golden Knights and Rangers. The Dragons seek their first-ever Gagarin Cup in their inaugural season. Gallant, who won the Jack Adams Trophy as a head coach of the Golden Knights, comes to Shanghai with over a decade of coaching experience at the NHL level.
Rangers Record with Gallant
Gallant lasted just two seasons with the Rangers. In that time, the team posted back-to-back 100 point campaigns, but fell short in the first round of the playoffs. “Talent doesn’t mean a thing,” Gallant said. “It’s great to have talent, but when you gotta play together and work together…”
Gallant and the Rangers mutually agreed to part ways at the end of the 2022-23 season. “I’m coming in here after what I think were two successful years,” Gallant said in his final press conference. We had one bad week and that cost us. If I can’t stand by my record and what I’ve done — and not just my record here — I think there’s something wrong. I think it’s pretty good. But we’re in New York and people put stuff out there, and that’s fine.”
“The experience of coaching an Original Six franchise with such rich history and an incredibly passionate fanbase is something I will never forget. After conversations with my family and Chris, it became clear that this was the right decision for both myself and the Rangers at this time,” Gallant said in a statement.
New York Looking for Return to Playoffs
The Rangers are on their second coaching hire since Gallant. Peter Laviolette, like Gallant, lasted just two seasons with the club. Mike Sullivan, former Pittsburgh Penguins head coach, took the helm this season. Like Gallant, building team culture is his priority.
“As we all know, talent alone doesn’t win championships. Teams win championships,” he stated during his introductory press conference. “I think that’s going to be our challenge from day one, is to become a team in the true sense of the word. I can’t really comment on what’s evolved here in the past. All I can speak to is what we can potentially build here moving forward.”
The Rangers missed the playoffs last season, ending with a 39-36-7 record. They’ll aim to make a playoff push this season in a tightly-contested Metropolitan division, where teams like the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes added substantially this offseason.
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