Player Discussion Gerard Gallant

[SA16]

He said something during his presser in the morning that really bothered me.

He was asked about how to counter the Canes forecheck and he said something to the effect of "Just get the puck out beyond the blue line."

He followed it up with some other stuff about generating odd man rushes by catching people who are too aggressive (which yes, if you want to counter this aggressiveness, this is how you do it) but "just getting the puck out past the blue line" isn't the way to do it. Sometimes it works that way (see: goal #1 yesterday) but most of the time if thats your goal, all you're going to do is relieve pressure for like 10 seconds and allow them to start the process again. NO team is good enough to be perfect at this.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding him, but this sounds like some AV level "Hey! Lets let them do what ever they want and hope that our goalie holds up and that we capitalize on 1 of the 5 chances we're going to have all night."

I stand by him being the right hire, but this is NOT the way that his teams played previously.

Do you expect him to actually answer a strategy question truthfully and not just default to some cliche answer?

 

[2014nyr]

Not a fan anymore.

We need an X's and O's coach. He most definitely is not that.

He makes little to no adjustments.

this is a grass is always greener argument though...av is supposedly a genius and we saw in the regular season but always ended those seasons getting bullied in the playoffs. around the league theres a lot of motivational/old school types ie berube, brind amour, bowness, trotz etc. x's and o's can be good, but ultimately anything adjustments still require executing them. hes playeed a massive role in this clubs never give up effort level and genuine belief in themselves and those things go further in the end than x's and o's can. idno how anyone would be done with him with the year we had, esp taking into account expectations and the youth of the roster.

 

[duhmetreE]

this is a grass is always greener argument though...av is supposedly a genius and we saw in the regular season but always ended those seasons getting bullied in the playoffs. around the league theres a lot of motivational/old school types ie berube, brind amour, bowness, trotz etc. x's and o's can be good, but ultimately anything adjustments still require executing them. hes playeed a massive role in this clubs never give up effort level and genuine belief in themselves and those things go further in the end than x's and o's can. idno how anyone would be done with him with the year we had, esp taking into account expectations and the youth of the roster.

He's phenomenal with the players. But IMO once you get to the top4, you need that, d-zone structure, X's and O's and quick adjustments. You need a little bit of everything. You can't just be great at one thing. It could carry you but it will only get you so far.

We once again struggle 5v5. Defensemen panic getting the puck out. Forwards struggle getting the puck out. Struggle getting through the zones. We still struggle supporting the puck and working as a unit. Middle of the ice is no mans land.

We can blame the personnel but Gallant is the one choosing the Nemeth's and Brauns over great PMD. Sticking with Schneider when he's struggling. Sticking with Reaves over someone like Brodz. Rooney. Keeping Strome at Center and that line together. These little aspects all add up. Our Center core is weak. I give him that. IMO we do not have the Centers you win with. Way too many breakdowns defensively.

I just don't believe this coaching staff will have what it takes to get to the tippity top. They are 'good' but not good enough. We continue to win, somehow while being outplayed, let's hope I'm wrong all the way to a Cup.

Like in baseball... Great pitching and timely hitting... We have Shesty, great goaltending and timely goal scoring.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Do you expect him to actually answer a strategy question truthfully and not just default to some cliche answer?

You can give a cliche answer that doesn't fall completely in line with what we saw against Pittsburgh.

 

[McRanger92]

We can quibble all we want about the X's & O's (every coach does things that drive their fans insane), but theres no doubt hes done a phenomenal job with this team. Not sure he'll win the Jack Adams but he deserves to be mentioned. He doesnt have a very long shelf life, an i expect he may be replaced after ~ 3 seasons, but hes been exactly what the team needed.

 

[2014nyr]

He's phenomenal with the players. But IMO once you get to the top4, you need that, d-zone structure, X's and O's and quick adjustments. You need a little bit of everything. You can't just be great at one thing. It could carry you but it will only get you so far.

We once again struggle 5v5. Defensemen panic getting the puck out. Forwards struggle getting the puck out. Struggle getting through the zones. We still struggle supporting the puck and working as a unit. Middle of the ice is no mans land.

We can blame the personnel but Gallant is the one choosing the Nemeth's and Brauns over great PMD. Sticking with Schneider when he's struggling. Sticking with Reaves over someone like Brodz. Rooney. Keeping Strome at Center and that line together. These little aspects all add up. Our Center core is weak. I give him that. IMO we do not have the Centers you win with. Way too many breakdowns defensively.

I just don't believe this coaching staff will have what it takes to get to the tippity top. They are 'good' but not good enough. We continue to win, somehow while being outplayed, let's hope I'm wrong all the way to a Cup.

Like in baseball... Great pitching and timely hitting... We have Shesty, great goaltending and timely goal scoring.

as far as structure i dont think thats so much a x's and o's issue as it is youth on d and some awful defensive centers in strome and chytil. i guess theres coaches like a hakstol that run a more regimented system versus gallant who gives players the responsibility of reading the play and off each other and thats turned into the keystone cops at times. you could be right it wont correct until a new voice is directing - maybe gallant is the torts who builds a team with winning habits and culture that gets replaced by an av type which already makes me see red - at this point though i think its more inexperience and upgrades needed.

im absolutely with you on zac jones not being in the lineup. i understand it, but i dont agree with it. just tough to imagine any coach icing a top 6 with 5 under 25 and 3 of them under 22 along with jones being another smaller dman. but hes also still one of our best 6 - the biggest mistake was not getting more looks at a lineup w/ him in during the regular season.

also think a big part of whats seen the team fully buy in is the loyalty and respect gallant gives to his players. thats a big part of the belief in themselves weve seen develop this year and thats an x factor thats bigger than anything x's and o's gain. what removed all doubt and i see as a way bigger deal than it might appear was winning the pitt series. coming back from down 3-1, but most importantly taking game 7. toronto is the most recent and obvious example but theres always highly talented teams that year over year always come up short -wash before they eventually broke through. and then theres tampa who had their faceplants but learned quick and turned into killers. the hawks had heartbreak and then seemingly always found a way with their core for half a decade. to see this group found a way in their first big test like that was massive going forward in my eyes. whatever happens this series, if it ends here winning that series changed what was already a very promising season. but i just really like gallant and thats part of it, i love what he brings to the team. he handled that series masterfully, he never panicked or wavered, stayed positive, and the team followed. i really hope hes the guy who brings a cup

 

[Inferno]

He has the time believing they can come back and that they are never out of a game.

But they’ve consistently started games flat. They got obliterated in basically every category except for major injuries which they had way more of. We won but we certainly didn’t play well enough to deserve to win.the recipe remains the same. Godlike goaltending and elite power play. There’s a reason most of us have them out in the 2nd round.

 

[will1066]

*sniff*

 

[duhmetreE]

*sniff*

*compulsively tap microphone*

 

[17futurecap]

I’ll give him credit for not playing the third pair in game 7, should have been done much earlier in the series, but at least he did it.

 

[Miamipuck]

Pretty much all his teams were analytics darlings I thought. It's odd with this group that's not the case. They are certainly capable of playing a more advanced stats friendly game.

Is there something more at play here?

30 plus shots and they score at least 3 or 4 goals.

 

[NYR2007]

The Rangers have always been like this. Not really have any fore check or transition. Disappear for periods and can come back. No matter who the coach is its always the same issues with the rangers.

 

[Peltz]

He said something during his presser in the morning that really bothered me.

He was asked about how to counter the Canes forecheck and he said something to the effect of "Just get the puck out beyond the blue line."

He followed it up with some other stuff about generating odd man rushes by catching people who are too aggressive (which yes, if you want to counter this aggressiveness, this is how you do it) but "just getting the puck out past the blue line" isn't the way to do it. Sometimes it works that way (see: goal #1 yesterday) but most of the time if thats your goal, all you're going to do is relieve pressure for like 10 seconds and allow them to start the process again. NO team is good enough to be perfect at this.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding him, but this sounds like some AV level "Hey! Lets let them do what ever they want and hope that our goalie holds up and that we capitalize on 1 of the 5 chances we're going to have all night."

I stand by him being the right hire, but this is NOT the way that his teams played previously.

Gerard Gallant tells the media nothing other than the most one dimensional polite answers to vaguely satisfy the question before moving on. We literally never know what's going on in that locker room or how they plan to play.

It's just his style.

 

[hackeyman]

I FIND THIS ALL HARD TO BELIEVE ! So 5 years without being in the playoffs, a new coach is hired, not many player changes, we're heading into the second round of the playoffs and there is a whole freakin choir complaining about the coach ! UNBELIEVABLE !
Side Note : Can we all agree Gallant was promoted too early in Columbus by his friend MacLean to coach a mostly AHL team in the NHL and his tenure there doesn't reflect the coach he turned into after going back and learning the coaching game from the ground up. Not the same coach so I am leaving out the Columbus record.

Let's talk about a few myths that have been mentioned more than once here:

MYTH no. 1 ) There's a reason he's got a short shelf life .FLORIDA- So he takes a team whose previous year was .375 win % to a .555 % in year one and to a 1st in their division year 2 with a record amount of wins for the franchise (nominated for Jack Adams). In year 3 after 21 games where 3 of their best players are injured for a large portion and still with a record above .500 he is let go among rumors " he is not an analytics guy" . SO HOW DID THAT GO ? BECAUSE IF HE HAS A SHORT SHELF LIFE FOR A REASON IT HAS TO BE JUSTIFIED. RIGHT? Here's how it went ......the arrogant owner and his cronies who thought they could win a cup with ANALYTICS missed the playoffs 4 YEARS IN A ROW......DESPITE having 3 young players who matured into stars as opposed to the young greenhorns Gallant was in charge of (and had helped in their growth considerably).
VEGAS- So year 1 he takes an expansion team of misfits (other teams throw aways ) TO THE STANLEY CUP FINALS. Do I need to repeat that again because people act like the greatest year in NHL coaching history is ho hum. Year 2 they make the playoffs again and stunningly lose in the 7th game amid one of the most horrible referee calls you will ever see where their player is charged a 5 minute major where the replay clearly shows he didn't even touch the guy and his own player knocked him off balance and he fell and hit is head. But still they did melt down and part of that is on him. But still we are talking a 2nd year franchise . He raised the expectations impossibly high and the next year the team suffers injuries , MAF goes AWAL for awhile (in hindsight we learn he was suffering emotionally from his father sick and dying) and he is let go with again another record above .500.
SO again HOW DID THAT GO ? .......VEGAS despite greatly improving the roster Gallant mostly coached.........have not returned to the finals and indeed this year missed the playoffs. Vegas owner impatient again fires their coach. IF there is a reason he has a short shelf life perhaps you could say he raises expectation too high too fast but in both cases there is clear evidence of impatience and arrogance with both owners .

MYTH No. 2 - He's not a game situation/analytics/ x & o coach ..... he's a player's coach . Not as much a myth as a misunderstanding but yes a little bit of a myth as well. Gallant may well be a player's coach but he's more than that. His greatest talent is in knowing how to create character, grit, teamwork,commitment to win. He creates a culture of full out effort and teamwork and most of all trust for his teams. He shows people respect in the deepest way and gets it in return. Even in little things -look at his press conferences and where have you seen mutual respect between a coach and the press like that before ? He knows how to motivate people to take responsibility to be the best they can be. That's complicated in hockey where you have some guys making $800,000. and other guys making several million. Some of you guys are harping about what he should do about Panarin.....I'll remind you that you said the same when Panarin had a slow start but Gallant was calm and confident and the Breadman served up a good loaf. You guys watch the game and hyper react to every shift . You see trees ....Gallant sees a vast forest with a tree that costs over $11,000,000/year to maintain and yet he has to have the forest working equally together but if that$11,000,00 tree burns to the ground he could lose the whole forest.
Gallant listens to analytics, he just doesn't want to hear it from a suit that can't look at a hockey player and accurately access him without seeing stats. Something else he understands is that a rotten horrible disease of a player like Nikita Gusev can learn to play to make his analytics better while poisoning his teammates. Gallant uses strategy but he also relies on others to do x's and o's . He's not a control freak and so sometimes the way he answers a question in a presser is more about having respect for one of his assistants he gave responsibility to. Yet you guys can't read between the lines and you go oh he's clueless. When he sits a player or puts a player in he considers a helluva lot more than you guys think but most of all he is considering on the TEAM and every member staying committed to their goals. You guys look at Reavo and complain how slow he is . Gallant looks at Reavo and sees a team that was softer than a marshmellow last year and as tough as f**k this year(in every sense)and he sees a player that contributed greatly to that change . Reavo may be slow but he never quits. Gallant sees Reavo and knows he can trust him to give his best and to do what he is asked and to never quit. He also sees Reavo and sees his $11,000,000 tree not only being protected but also feeling appreciated that he's being protected.

Myth 3 Gallant can win but not all the way and not a Stanley Cup. Gallant has never been given the opportunity to coach a team that would have reasonable expectations of winning a cup. Gallant can and has won all the way. 3 years in the QMJHL and he went to finals first year, followed by 2 league championships and a Memorial Cup. Last year he won a world championship with a team not as talented as Canada usually enters and did so in a remarkable comeback fashion. Consider the teams Gallant has started with in Florida, Vegas and even New York and you can make an argument he has the best record in that time period in the NHL relative to talent/roster. There are more than a few teams in the NHL watching the second round with a far better roster(at least on paper) than the New York Rangers. SO WHY DON'T WE GIVE HIM A FAIR CHANCE AND SIT BACK AND ENJOY THE RIDE.

 

[TJHKY]

I FIND THIS ALL HARD TO BELIEVE ! So 5 years without being in the playoffs, a new coach is hired, not many player changes, we're heading into the second round of the playoffs and there is a whole freakin choir complaining about the coach ! UNBELIEVABLE !
Side Note : Can we all agree Gallant was promoted too early in Columbus by his friend MacLean to coach a mostly AHL team in the NHL and his tenure there doesn't reflect the coach he turned into after going back and learning the coaching game from the ground up. Not the same coach so I am leaving out the Columbus record.

Let's talk about a few myths that have been mentioned more than once here:

MYTH no. 1 ) There's a reason he's got a short shelf life .FLORIDA- So he takes a team whose previous year was .375 win % to a .555 % in year one and to a 1st in their division year 2 with a record amount of wins for the franchise (nominated for Jack Adams). In year 3 after 21 games where 3 of their best players are injured for a large portion and still with a record above .500 he is let go among rumors " he is not an analytics guy" . SO HOW DID THAT GO ? BECAUSE IF HE HAS A SHORT SHELF LIFE FOR A REASON IT HAS TO BE JUSTIFIED. RIGHT? Here's how it went ......the arrogant owner and his cronies who thought they could win a cup with ANALYTICS missed the playoffs 4 YEARS IN A ROW......DESPITE having 3 young players who matured into stars as opposed to the young greenhorns Gallant was in charge of (and had helped in their growth considerably).
VEGAS- So year 1 he takes an expansion team of misfits (other teams throw aways ) TO THE STANLEY CUP FINALS. Do I need to repeat that again because people act like the greatest year in NHL coaching history is ho hum. Year 2 they make the playoffs again and stunningly lose in the 7th game amid one of the most horrible referee calls you will ever see where their player is charged a 5 minute major where the replay clearly shows he didn't even touch the guy and his own player knocked him off balance and he fell and hit is head. But still they did melt down and part of that is on him. But still we are talking a 2nd year franchise . He raised the expectations impossibly high and the next year the team suffers injuries , MAF goes AWAL for awhile (in hindsight we learn he was suffering emotionally from his father sick and dying) and he is let go with again another record above .500.
SO again HOW DID THAT GO ? .......VEGAS despite greatly improving the roster Gallant mostly coached.........have not returned to the finals and indeed this year missed the playoffs. Vegas owner impatient again fires their coach. IF there is a reason he has a short shelf life perhaps you could say he raises expectation too high too fast but in both cases there is clear evidence of impatience and arrogance with both owners .

MYTH No. 2 - He's not a game situation/analytics/ x & o coach ..... he's a player's coach . Not as much a myth as a misunderstanding but yes a little bit of a myth as well. Gallant may well be a player's coach but he's more than that. His greatest talent is in knowing how to create character, grit, teamwork,commitment to win. He creates a culture of full out effort and teamwork and most of all trust for his teams. He shows people respect in the deepest way and gets it in return. Even in little things -look at his press conferences and where have you seen mutual respect between a coach and the press like that before ? He knows how to motivate people to take responsibility to be the best they can be. That's complicated in hockey where you have some guys making $800,000. and other guys making several million. Some of you guys are harping about what he should do about Panarin.....I'll remind you that you said the same when Panarin had a slow start but Gallant was calm and confident and the Breadman served up a good loaf. You guys watch the game and hyper react to every shift . You see trees ....Gallant sees a vast forest with a tree that costs over $11,000,000/year to maintain and yet he has to have the forest working equally together but if that$11,000,00 tree burns to the ground he could lose the whole forest.
Gallant listens to analytics, he just doesn't want to hear it from a suit that can't look at a hockey player and accurately access him without seeing stats. Something else he understands is that a rotten horrible disease of a player like Nikita Gusev can learn to play to make his analytics better while poisoning his teammates. Gallant uses strategy but he also relies on others to do x's and o's . He's not a control freak and so sometimes the way he answers a question in a presser is more about having respect for one of his assistants he gave responsibility to. Yet you guys can't read between the lines and you go oh he's clueless. When he sits a player or puts a player in he considers a helluva lot more than you guys think but most of all he is considering on the TEAM and every member staying committed to their goals. You guys look at Reavo and complain how slow he is . Gallant looks at Reavo and sees a team that was softer than a marshmellow last year and as tough as f**k this year(in every sense)and he sees a player that contributed greatly to that change . Reavo may be slow but he never quits. Gallant sees Reavo and knows he can trust him to give his best and to do what he is asked and to never quit. He also sees Reavo and sees his $11,000,000 tree not only being protected but also feeling appreciated.

Myth 3 Gallant can win but not all the way and not a Stanley Cup. Gallant has never been given the opportunity to coach a team that would have reasonable expectations of winning a cup. Gallant can and has won all the way. 3 years in the QMJHL and he went to finals first year, followed by 2 league championships and a Memorial Cup. Last year he won a world championship with a team not as talented as Canada usually enters and did so in a remarkable comeback fashion. Consider the teams Gallant has started with in Florida, Vegas and even New York and you can make an argument he has the best record in that time period in the NHL relative to talent/roster. There are more than a few teams in the NHL watching the second round with a far better roster(at least on paper) than the New York Rangers. SO WHY DON'T WE GIVE HIM A FAIR CHANCE AND SIT BACK AND ENJOY THE RIDE.

Well said. Totally agree

 

[Peltz]

I FIND THIS ALL HARD TO BELIEVE ! So 5 years without being in the playoffs, a new coach is hired, not many player changes, we're heading into the second round of the playoffs and there is a whole freakin choir complaining about the coach ! UNBELIEVABLE !
Side Note : Can we all agree Gallant was promoted too early in Columbus by his friend MacLean to coach a mostly AHL team in the NHL and his tenure there doesn't reflect the coach he turned into after going back and learning the coaching game from the ground up. Not the same coach so I am leaving out the Columbus record.

Let's talk about a few myths that have been mentioned more than once here:

MYTH no. 1 ) There's a reason he's got a short shelf life .FLORIDA- So he takes a team whose previous year was .375 win % to a .555 % in year one and to a 1st in their division year 2 with a record amount of wins for the franchise (nominated for Jack Adams). In year 3 after 21 games where 3 of their best players are injured for a large portion and still with a record above .500 he is let go among rumors " he is not an analytics guy" . SO HOW DID THAT GO ? BECAUSE IF HE HAS A SHORT SHELF LIFE FOR A REASON IT HAS TO BE JUSTIFIED. RIGHT? Here's how it went ......the arrogant owner and his cronies who thought they could win a cup with ANALYTICS missed the playoffs 4 YEARS IN A ROW......DESPITE having 3 young players who matured into stars as opposed to the young greenhorns Gallant was in charge of (and had helped in their growth considerably).
VEGAS- So year 1 he takes an expansion team of misfits (other teams throw aways ) TO THE STANLEY CUP FINALS. Do I need to repeat that again because people act like the greatest year in NHL coaching history is ho hum. Year 2 they make the playoffs again and stunningly lose in the 7th game amid one of the most horrible referee calls you will ever see where their player is charged a 5 minute major where the replay clearly shows he didn't even touch the guy and his own player knocked him off balance and he fell and hit is head. But still they did melt down and part of that is on him. But still we are talking a 2nd year franchise . He raised the expectations impossibly high and the next year the team suffers injuries , MAF goes AWAL for awhile (in hindsight we learn he was suffering emotionally from his father sick and dying) and he is let go with again another record above .500.
SO again HOW DID THAT GO ? .......VEGAS despite greatly improving the roster Gallant mostly coached.........have not returned to the finals and indeed this year missed the playoffs. Vegas owner impatient again fires their coach. IF there is a reason he has a short shelf life perhaps you could say he raises expectation too high too fast but in both cases there is clear evidence of impatience and arrogance with both owners .

MYTH No. 2 - He's not a game situation/analytics/ x & o coach ..... he's a player's coach . Not as much a myth as a misunderstanding but yes a little bit of a myth as well. Gallant may well be a player's coach but he's more than that. His greatest talent is in knowing how to create character, grit, teamwork,commitment to win. He creates a culture of full out effort and teamwork and most of all trust for his teams. He shows people respect in the deepest way and gets it in return. Even in little things -look at his press conferences and where have you seen mutual respect between a coach and the press like that before ? He knows how to motivate people to take responsibility to be the best they can be. That's complicated in hockey where you have some guys making $800,000. and other guys making several million. Some of you guys are harping about what he should do about Panarin.....I'll remind you that you said the same when Panarin had a slow start but Gallant was calm and confident and the Breadman served up a good loaf. You guys watch the game and hyper react to every shift . You see trees ....Gallant sees a vast forest with a tree that costs over $11,000,000/year to maintain and yet he has to have the forest working equally together but if that$11,000,00 tree burns to the ground he could lose the whole forest.
Gallant listens to analytics, he just doesn't want to hear it from a suit that can't look at a hockey player and accurately access him without seeing stats. Something else he understands is that a rotten horrible disease of a player like Nikita Gusev can learn to play to make his analytics better while poisoning his teammates. Gallant uses strategy but he also relies on others to do x's and o's . He's not a control freak and so sometimes the way he answers a question in a presser is more about having respect for one of his assistants he gave responsibility to. Yet you guys can't read between the lines and you go oh he's clueless. When he sits a player or puts a player in he considers a helluva lot more than you guys think but most of all he is considering on the TEAM and every member staying committed to their goals. You guys look at Reavo and complain how slow he is . Gallant looks at Reavo and sees a team that was softer than a marshmellow last year and as tough as f**k this year(in every sense)and he sees a player that contributed greatly to that change . Reavo may be slow but he never quits. Gallant sees Reavo and knows he can trust him to give his best and to do what he is asked and to never quit. He also sees Reavo and sees his $11,000,000 tree not only being protected but also feeling appreciated.

Myth 3 Gallant can win but not all the way and not a Stanley Cup. Gallant has never been given the opportunity to coach a team that would have reasonable expectations of winning a cup. Gallant can and has won all the way. 3 years in the QMJHL and he went to finals first year, followed by 2 league championships and a Memorial Cup. Last year he won a world championship with a team not as talented as Canada usually enters and did so in a remarkable comeback fashion. Consider the teams Gallant has started with in Florida, Vegas and even New York and you can make an argument he has the best record in that time period in the NHL relative to talent/roster. There are more than a few teams in the NHL watching the second round with a far better roster(at least on paper) than the New York Rangers. SO WHY DON'T WE GIVE HIM A FAIR CHANCE AND SIT BACK AND ENJOY THE RIDE.

You forgot to mention that just this season:

27 comeback wins this year.

Led an inexperienced team to series victory, trailing 3-1 in the series and mounting a comeback in each elimination game for the first time in NHL history.

Won that series with the youngest team in the playoffs.

Got a player who has never scored more than 30 goals in a season to score over 50 (seriously that's nuts).

Got Vezina-level goaltending out of his number 1 goalie this year, after relatively pedestrian (but still strong) numbers the year prior.

I really think Gallant has a good eye for the game and is a better X's and O's guy than most people give him credit for. Unlike other coaches though, Gallant seems to fully understand the limitations of his roster, yet continues to give them a ton of autonomy and respect without ever selling them out to media criticisms despite every opportunity to do so. DQ could have learned a lot from Gallant in that regard when he told the media his stars play too much "east-west hockey."

When his team doesn't show up and has a stinker (which happens to the best of them), he tells the media he's not concerned and they may be tired from the schedule rather than saying he's upset with the effort. As a result they almost always come back with a strong effort.

He also knows when to push hard and criticize at those rare times - after the 7-2 blowout in series 1, Gallant, appropriately, came down on the team for playing too soft. He picks his moments and only pushes the buttons when he needs to.

Look also at Laf - he was a healthy scratch late in the season and has been playing some of his most ferocious hockey since.

You can point to all of the advanced analytics in the world, the bottom line is, his team is in the second round of the playoffs - one of only 8 teams left. And he's pushing the right buttons at the right times to keep the team moving forward.

Those are results. Not even "statistically good" teams get to this level (look at the Leafs). Because the sport is not just about analytics - it's about execution. And their current opportunity, + Kreider's 50 goals + Shesterkin's Vezina season really prove that.

I'm happy with the coaching and would like him to stay for a few years.

 

[Cuckoo4Kakko]

I FIND THIS ALL HARD TO BELIEVE ! So 5 years without being in the playoffs, a new coach is hired, not many player changes, we're heading into the second round of the playoffs and there is a whole freakin choir complaining about the coach ! UNBELIEVABLE !
Side Note : Can we all agree Gallant was promoted too early in Columbus by his friend MacLean to coach a mostly AHL team in the NHL and his tenure there doesn't reflect the coach he turned into after going back and learning the coaching game from the ground up. Not the same coach so I am leaving out the Columbus record.

Let's talk about a few myths that have been mentioned more than once here:

MYTH no. 1 ) There's a reason he's got a short shelf life .FLORIDA- So he takes a team whose previous year was .375 win % to a .555 % in year one and to a 1st in their division year 2 with a record amount of wins for the franchise (nominated for Jack Adams). In year 3 after 21 games where 3 of their best players are injured for a large portion and still with a record above .500 he is let go among rumors " he is not an analytics guy" . SO HOW DID THAT GO ? BECAUSE IF HE HAS A SHORT SHELF LIFE FOR A REASON IT HAS TO BE JUSTIFIED. RIGHT? Here's how it went ......the arrogant owner and his cronies who thought they could win a cup with ANALYTICS missed the playoffs 4 YEARS IN A ROW......DESPITE having 3 young players who matured into stars as opposed to the young greenhorns Gallant was in charge of (and had helped in their growth considerably).
VEGAS- So year 1 he takes an expansion team of misfits (other teams throw aways ) TO THE STANLEY CUP FINALS. Do I need to repeat that again because people act like the greatest year in NHL coaching history is ho hum. Year 2 they make the playoffs again and stunningly lose in the 7th game amid one of the most horrible referee calls you will ever see where their player is charged a 5 minute major where the replay clearly shows he didn't even touch the guy and his own player knocked him off balance and he fell and hit is head. But still they did melt down and part of that is on him. But still we are talking a 2nd year franchise . He raised the expectations impossibly high and the next year the team suffers injuries , MAF goes AWAL for awhile (in hindsight we learn he was suffering emotionally from his father sick and dying) and he is let go with again another record above .500.
SO again HOW DID THAT GO ? .......VEGAS despite greatly improving the roster Gallant mostly coached.........have not returned to the finals and indeed this year missed the playoffs. Vegas owner impatient again fires their coach. IF there is a reason he has a short shelf life perhaps you could say he raises expectation too high too fast but in both cases there is clear evidence of impatience and arrogance with both owners .

MYTH No. 2 - He's not a game situation/analytics/ x & o coach ..... he's a player's coach . Not as much a myth as a misunderstanding but yes a little bit of a myth as well. Gallant may well be a player's coach but he's more than that. His greatest talent is in knowing how to create character, grit, teamwork,commitment to win. He creates a culture of full out effort and teamwork and most of all trust for his teams. He shows people respect in the deepest way and gets it in return. Even in little things -look at his press conferences and where have you seen mutual respect between a coach and the press like that before ? He knows how to motivate people to take responsibility to be the best they can be. That's complicated in hockey where you have some guys making $800,000. and other guys making several million. Some of you guys are harping about what he should do about Panarin.....I'll remind you that you said the same when Panarin had a slow start but Gallant was calm and confident and the Breadman served up a good loaf. You guys watch the game and hyper react to every shift . You see trees ....Gallant sees a vast forest with a tree that costs over $11,000,000/year to maintain and yet he has to have the forest working equally together but if that$11,000,00 tree burns to the ground he could lose the whole forest.
Gallant listens to analytics, he just doesn't want to hear it from a suit that can't look at a hockey player and accurately access him without seeing stats. Something else he understands is that a rotten horrible disease of a player like Nikita Gusev can learn to play to make his analytics better while poisoning his teammates. Gallant uses strategy but he also relies on others to do x's and o's . He's not a control freak and so sometimes the way he answers a question in a presser is more about having respect for one of his assistants he gave responsibility to. Yet you guys can't read between the lines and you go oh he's clueless. When he sits a player or puts a player in he considers a helluva lot more than you guys think but most of all he is considering on the TEAM and every member staying committed to their goals. You guys look at Reavo and complain how slow he is . Gallant looks at Reavo and sees a team that was softer than a marshmellow last year and as tough as f**k this year(in every sense)and he sees a player that contributed greatly to that change . Reavo may be slow but he never quits. Gallant sees Reavo and knows he can trust him to give his best and to do what he is asked and to never quit. He also sees Reavo and sees his $11,000,000 tree not only being protected but also feeling appreciated that he's being protected.

Myth 3 Gallant can win but not all the way and not a Stanley Cup. Gallant has never been given the opportunity to coach a team that would have reasonable expectations of winning a cup. Gallant can and has won all the way. 3 years in the QMJHL and he went to finals first year, followed by 2 league championships and a Memorial Cup. Last year he won a world championship with a team not as talented as Canada usually enters and did so in a remarkable comeback fashion. Consider the teams Gallant has started with in Florida, Vegas and even New York and you can make an argument he has the best record in that time period in the NHL relative to talent/roster. There are more than a few teams in the NHL watching the second round with a far better roster(at least on paper) than the New York Rangers. SO WHY DON'T WE GIVE HIM A FAIR CHANCE AND SIT BACK AND ENJOY THE RIDE.

To be fair, if Igor was only slightly better than last year instead of the Vezina winning game stealer he became, we wouldn't be seeing this post because we would have been focusing on our draft position for a few months.

GG deserves credit. The team doesn't quit. The players seem happy to be under his leadership. But he isn't without blame. Why did it take so long to realize Nemeth was killing us? Play the kids more. Etc.

There is a definite middle ground. He has shown he is willing to correct mistakes. Hope it continues!

 

[hackeyman]

You forgot to mention that just this season:

27 comeback wins this year.

Led an inexperienced team to series victory, trailing 3-1 in the series and mounting a comeback in each elimination game for the first time in NHL history.

Won that series with the youngest team in the playoffs.

Got a player who has never scored more than 30 goals in a season to score over 50 (seriously that's nuts).

Got Vezina-level goaltending out of his number 1 goalie this year, after relatively pedestrian (but still strong) numbers the year prior.

All excellent points. I was just concentrating on addressing specific BS that kept popping up on this thread and others. Your points could fall under myths 2 and 3. Whatever you want to call his style he gets results and his players buy in . This New York team has been far mentally tougher than anyone (except Gallant) expected to be. Some fans want us to win every game 5-0 but how exciting was it watching those 27 comeback wins.

 

[GENESISPuck94]

this is a grass is always greener argument though...av is supposedly a genius and we saw in the regular season but always ended those seasons getting bullied in the playoffs. around the league theres a lot of motivational/old school types ie berube, brind amour, bowness, trotz etc. x's and o's can be good, but ultimately anything adjustments still require executing them. hes playeed a massive role in this clubs never give up effort level and genuine belief in themselves and those things go further in the end than x's and o's can. idno how anyone would be done with him with the year we had, esp taking into account expectations and the youth of the roster.

Before the lockdown, the Rangers looked a lot like and had the same mentality they have now. They were one of the hottest teams in the league, they were rolling. Then the lockdown happened, they weren't able to get it back. This season they got it back.

 

[bobbop]

No one should underestimate the value of a coach pulling a team together. Some of the great runs in hockey were triumphs of team over talent. We are seeing a some of that here.

Coaches win with different styles. Structure guys can wear teams out. Hardasses almost always have a short shelf life. There’s no perfect formula.

People seem to forget how poorly Mike Sullivan was viewed as an assistant with the Rangers Or how badly he failed with the Bruins.

There are a limited number of Jon Coopers out there. Very limited. The best strategy seems to be find someone who is very good in one area and support him with others good in different areas.

And finally, don’t forget this is a flawed roster. It’s also a very young roster on their first playoff run. The Rangers out performed expert (and statistical) predictions by 10-14 points this year. That’s not to be trivialized. Gallant will deservedly be 1-2 (with Sutter) in coach of the year category. We will see where it goes from here.

 

[IDvsEGO]

Gallant isnt the X's and O's guy on the rangers. Thats Mike Kelly. Kelly is the guy who designs the systems for gallant, and gallant has preferences in how he likes to play (roll 4 lines, roll 3 pairs) thats not what he has with the rangers. He's rolling 3 lines and 3 pairs.

Gallant isnt the most analytically friendly guy, but he also has things he keeps track of, and teams have their own in house analytics that are likely better than any public data.

He took a team that last year was basically .500, and with some minor additions made them a home ice team in his first year.
He got us through injuries and slowly developed some of our young players while also pushing our vets to play some of their best hockey of their career.

He's the guy who gets a vet to lay their body out for a block, or guys like mika and panarin to throw the occassional hard body check.

Gallant has his team believing that the team is greater than the individual and to buy into his plan.
It may have a short lifespan if there isn't great results, but this year, everyone's clearly all in.
The smile on laf and kakko's faces during press conferences.
The jokes that panarin and mika are saying.

Those are more important than individual numbers.

The players have repeated it over and over, everyone has bought into the gallant. That's not something that quinn got. Quinn had his guys, and if you weren't his guy, you didnt get his attention, and you didnt get coaching.

 

[hackeyman]

To be fair, if Igor was only slightly better than last year instead of the Vezina winning game stealer he became, we wouldn't be seeing this post because we would have been focusing on our draft position for a few months.

GG deserves credit. The team doesn't quit. The players seem happy to be under his leadership. But he isn't without blame. Why did it take so long to realize Nemeth was killing us? Play the kids more. Etc.

There is a definite middle ground. He has shown he is willing to correct mistakes. Hope it continues!

I can turn that on you and say that without Gallant , Shesty wouldn't have had a Vezina year. It's not a coincidence Goalies thrive under Gallant. You have no clue as to what goes on behind the decisions on what players play and how much.

 

[Cuckoo4Kakko]

I can turn that on you and say that without Gallant , Shesty wouldn't have had a Vezina year. It's not a coincidence Goalies thrive under Gallant. You have no clue as to what goes on behind the decisions on what players play and how much.

Can you? We have this goalie coach who has had a decent run of turning out stars.

 

[Unpredictable1]

*sniff*

Nothing makes me burst with spontaneous laughter reading something than stumbling across your easter eggs. LOL (well, that, and Pens fans on here - but that's different )

 

[bobbop]

Gallant manages his bench smartly. In the opening party of each period he rolls lines. After the commercial breaks he usually matches lines and will skip to his better players. Remember the segments after the under 14 break and under 10 break are just four minutes (7ntil the next break, so the top lines mat get an extra turn. I think he goes back and forth between rolling and matching pretty smartly.

Unlike AV, who was a slave to rolling four lines, GG actively coaches the rotation. That may be his best strength as a coach.