Speculation: Gerard Gallant fired

[GreatGordie9]

What gets me about Gallant is the way he was treated in Florida and now Vegas. If Gallant ended up in Detroit I would expect total professionalism by the Wings organization.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

What gets me about Gallant is the way he was treated in Florida and now Vegas. If Gallant ended up in Detroit I would expect total professionalism by the Wings organization.

Bothers me more that it happened to him a second time and good guy Kelly McCrimmon is the GM this time around.

I would welcome this hire though if it were to happen.

 

[SimonEdvinssonAtSix]

Do I think he is better than the greatest coach of all-time... Seriously if that is the standard we should fire Yzerman already and shoot Chris Ilitch into space. Because they aren't the greatest of all-time either.

I think Blash has been handed a pretty tall order. I still believe he is a good coach.

Ahhh, I see. So Blashill is not the best coach of all time. So is it safe to assume there are currently better coaches still working today? If so, is Gallant one of them? If so, is it reasonable to assume he might ( may, could,) be able to do more with this roster than Blashill? For me the answer is yes.

I think Blashill was handed a tall order too, and I think he is in over his head at the NHL level. He has a good hockey mind but not as a pro coach. His thoughts, work ethic and attitude are why he is respected by guys like Yzerman and Holland.

His results are the reasons why Yzerman WILL fire him.

 

[TheClap]

I would question where he could possibly go. That front office is starting to fill up quick, and that would be my assumption based on the way you have that phrased.

I heard a managerial position at the first level concourse Little Ceasar's just opened up.

 

[Hen Kolland]

I heard a managerial position at the first level concourse Little Ceasar's just opened up.

Maybe you should apply. Blashill will surely get another opportunity to coach in short order.

 

[TheClap]

Maybe you should apply. Blashill will surely get another opportunity to coach in short order.

MAYBE I ALREADY HAVE!

And I bet he doesn't, at least not the NHL head coach level.

 

[Hen Kolland]

MAYBE I ALREADY HAVE!

And I bet he doesn't, at least not the NHL head coach level.

He will undoubtedly get another shot. He’s well respected by many, and people around the hockey world aren’t as microscopic in their perspectives as a bunch of fans on a forum are. A lot of the hate towards Blashill is purely because people are pissed to be in this position and can’t those emotions. The ire of the fan base was largely on Holland for not really kicking this rebuild off in a timely manner, and now that he’s gone and SY is around, they are picking the most readily available face to get mad at. GMs will be able to sit down with Blashill and say “man that was a f***ing bad situation in Detroit near the end” and then move on.

 

[GBFP]

Seems like Spudsy burns hot early, but the heat causes him to flame out in short order as well. Could be good for a young team to get them rallyi8ng for a common cause, but not a guy who makes the good team great.

 

[Squirrel in the Hole]

Why haven't we hired him yet?

 

[TheClap]

He will undoubtedly get another shot. He’s well respected by many, and people around the hockey world aren’t as microscopic in their perspectives as a bunch of fans on a forum are. A lot of the hate towards Blashill is purely because people are pissed to be in this position and can’t those emotions. The ire of the fan base was largely on Holland for not really kicking this rebuild off in a timely manner, and now that he’s gone and SY is around, they are picking the most readily available face to get mad at. GMs will be able to sit down with Blashill and say “man that was a ****ing bad situation in Detroit near the end” and then move on.

You're confusing being respected as a person with being respected as a head coach.

Jeff Blashill is a nice guy. He isn't the a-hole his predecessor was. He'll get talked about kindly from his employers and former players and around the league. Nobody is going to kick him while he's down.

History also tells us a coach with his track record is not going to have GMs lining up to hire him anytime soon after Detroit lets him go. He'll land an assistant gig somewhere or a minor league head coach for the next few seasons. IF one of those teams does great, he'll get another chance.

 

[LeighDx59]

We should definitely be in on him at this point. While I doubt goaltending will improve til Bernier is back, I feel like he might actually make the team play better at least.

 

[newfy]

Do they lack brains? Naw. Is Blashill in over his head and not good at his job? Yes.

Prove it? Look at his record.

Looking at his record proves nothing. This team is so bad its insane. I dont think Blashill is a great coach but people in this thread are ridiculous. How is Blashill supposed to make Howard stop a puck last night? Or teach Lashoff how to defend a guy like Barzal? Its impossible. Hes got basically one dman on his team that doesnt belong on a bottom pair in the nhl and one line of forwards that can be counted on to score even a little bit.

Someone in this thread is saying that Glendening is one of the best fourth line centers in the league but is playing second line wing but for some reason doesnt mention who the other options to play in that spot are. Lets throw Helm, Ehn, Perlini Abdelkader or any other peice of garbage in the line up in that spot and get even worse results. It wont matter what he does. Is it time to move on? Yeah, likely but hes not some terrible coach and hes not in way over his head.

I would absolutely welcome Gallant with open arms over Blashill but I really dont think hes over his head at all compared to what any other coach would be with this roster and especially the goaltending theyve gotten this season.

Bothers me more that it happened to him a second time and good guy Kelly McCrimmon is the GM this time around.

I would welcome this hire though if it were to happen.

I was thinking this earlier. I know Gallant is highly respected it seems but why would 2 teams do this to him? Is the media and fans missing something about him that makes teams not mind canning him like that?

 

[vladdy16]

I still dream of the day that Jiri Fischer is barking out orders, deploying Seider, Cholowski, Hronek, McIsaac/Drsydale.

Gallant is competent I'm sure. Competent isn't what we need, as one of the worst teams in history, right now.

 

[lomekian]

Interesting. HSJ reports that the thought is Blash is relieved of his duties and offered a job elsewhere in the organization.
Weird.
He doesn't have a desire to go somewhere else?

Wings fan. Michigan native. Entire life (almost) in Michigan and that of his family. If it were true it may point to a lack of overriding ambition, but perhaps other things are just as important to him?

 

[ricky0034]

You're confusing being respected as a person with being respected as a head coach.

Jeff Blashill is a nice guy. He isn't the a-hole his predecessor was. He'll get talked about kindly from his employers and former players and around the league. Nobody is going to kick him while he's down.

History also tells us a coach with his track record is not going to have GMs lining up to hire him anytime soon after Detroit lets him go. He'll land an assistant gig somewhere or a minor league head coach for the next few seasons. IF one of those teams does great, he'll get another chance.

Dallas Eakins got another gig eventually i'm sure Blashill will too,doesn't mean it's a good idea but it will probably happen at some point

but yeah maybe he goes back to the AHL for a few years first or something

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

Dallas Eakins got another gig eventually i'm sure Blashill will too,doesn't mean it's a good idea but it will probably happen at some point

but yeah maybe he goes back to the AHL for a few years first or something

I found it interesting that Custance and HSJ both mentioned him staying in the organization in another role.

 

[lomekian]

Its incredibly hard to evaluate Blashill as a coach given his success in advantageous situations at lower levels and failure in a very difficult position at this level. So it becomes partly a stylistic choice, and a conversation about direction. For me the best argument for canning Blashill is that, unlike last season, this team has been blown away with alarming regularity. Of course the collapse of Jimmy Howard is a major factor, but this is first year I think he's clearly getting less than the sum of available parts. The only consistency seems conservative approaches, and when we do vary things with a rotating PP or really fluid feet moving zone time, all attempts to do so again are abandoned remarkably quickly.

The fact is, despite a shocking lack of skill on this roster, I think we've been better when playing a more adventurous game, but we've only seen fleeting glimpses of a creative style, far too often resorting to dump and chase, and more than we need to.
And frankly, if we are going to be historically bad, we may as well try to implement things stylistically that reflect what we aspire to in the future rather than sticking with a status quo that not only has diminishing returns, but is often, frankly dull and lacking in imagination.

Is Gallant the man? Not convinced, though the style created with his bunch of cast-offs at Vegas was very impressive, so I'd be prepared to give it a go. Longer term I'd aim for someone like Larionov who is actively trying to do something different to the NHL same old. I'd like a bit more east-west to go with all our north-south, but recognise that this current roster is not the best positioned for that!

 

[Hen Kolland]

I found it interesting that Custance and HSJ both mentioned him staying in the organization in another role.

What role would you imagine that he would do? Or be qualified for? It’s not like there’s a AGM role that he would make any sense for. There’s no reason for him to accept a demotion to an assistant coach role. I don’t know that he’s gotten any chops as a scout.

I can’t imagine he wants to go back to GR unless his family ties to Michigan are just too important.

 

[bearball]

I think Gallant sees out the year unemployed now. I don't think there is any great rush too mvoe Blashill on, we suck, we know we suck. Let's not have a supposedly fresh coach being tainted with this season. Let him start completely fresh come the off season.

I like Blashill, I think many in the game do and I suspect he will land on his feet, the one time he had a border line play off team we took Tampa to 7 games. Even that year we had no business making it with that roster and the injuries that came with it. We have had dumpster fire seasons since then, but they were all too be expected given the lack of quality on this team.

With that said, probably a bit of word fatigue has set in around his message as it pertains too this group. A parting of the ways at seasons end is the fairest and most sane solution all round.

 

[LeftWingLocked]

Blashill will become a lottery pick specialist. Teams will hire him to get the number one pick. That’s about it.

 

[Kronwalled55]

You guys are way too nice to Jeff Blashill.

 

[Henkka]

Fine for either Gallant or Lambert. Or both.

 

[Ghost of Ethan Hunt]

Where will Gerard Gallant coach next? Analyzing seven potential destinations - Sportsnet.ca

"According to Natural Stat Trick the Golden Knights rank highly in a number of measures, and the tale of their struggles has more to do with below-average goaltending and a run of bad luck."

STAT (5-on-5)	Percentage	LEAGUE RANK
GF%	48.51	22nd
xGF%	54.84	2nd
CF%	53.59	3rd
SCF%	55.38	2nd
HDCF%	53.73	5th
SH%	7.46	25th
SV%	0.911	25th

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Team Season Totals - Natural Stat Trick

Gallant's resume speaks for itself at the NHL level...He won two CHL Coach of the Year awards, two QMJHL titles and a Memorial Cup. Bring in Larionov as Asst.

 

[Winger98]

I'm not interesting in a guy if we're expecting just a moderate improvement. If the Wings are going after a new coach, it needs to be because he's a substantial improvement because a small, moderate change just isn't worth it right now.

Dallas Eakins got another gig eventually i'm sure Blashill will too,doesn't mean it's a good idea but it will probably happen at some point

but yeah maybe he goes back to the AHL for a few years first or something

And just going from memory, but I thought Eakins' time in Edmonton was far more dysfunctional than what we've heard about Blashill. I thought there was something close to open revolt in that locker room, but maybe I'm misremembering.

The fact is, despite a shocking lack of skill on this roster, I think we've been better when playing a more adventurous game, but we've only seen fleeting glimpses of a creative style, far too often resorting to dump and chase, and more than we need to.
And frankly, if we are going to be historically bad, we may as well try to implement things stylistically that reflect what we aspire to in the future rather than sticking with a status quo that not only has diminishing returns, but is often, frankly dull and lacking in imagination.

I think how this team plays is more a reflection of how poor the players are than what the coach wants them to do. I know I've heard Blashill interviewed and he talks about drilling the team to be more aggressive, but they just don't go for it in the game. I think Blashill could probably squeak a bit more out of this club if he did embrace a conservative, chip it off the glass and grind it out defensive game plan.

 

[Run the Jewels]

I wasn't too fond of the potential coaching candidates to replace Blashill in the offseason, but now that Gallant suddenly became available, I have become much more optimistic that we are going to be okay.

I remember reading his comments a few years ago about how he still roots for Detroit in the playoffs and how he would like to return and now here is his chance.

I would actually like the Redwings to offer the position to him now except for the fact that I would like us to get the #1 draft pick to improve our chances of drafting Lafreniere.

Simple, hire him as a consultant for the rest of the season.