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New York Rangers Expected To Make More Coaching Changes

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The New York Rangers are making more modifications to their coaching staff after parting ways with head coach Gerard Gallant, says The New York Post’s Larry Brooks. The Rangers are expected to relieve assistants Mike Kelly and Jim Midgley of their duties, while assistant Gord Murphy will remain on staff pending the determination of their next head coach.

This latest move comes after the Rangers finished the 2022-23 season by losing their First Round series against the New Jersey Devils in seven games despite holding a 2-0 lead in the series. The decision to part ways with Gallant came as a surprise to many, as he had been with the team for two successful regular seasons, but multiple reports later said exit interviews with Rangers players weren’t kind to Gallant.

The Rangers will now make some deeper structural changes behind the bench as they look to revamp their coaching staff. Kelly, who worked with Gallant during his times with the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights, heads to the open market with 10 years of experience as an NHL assistant. Midgley, 45, had been with the Rangers since Gallant’s hiring in 2021 but has no previous NHL coaching experience.

Murphy, who also spent the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons as an associate coach with the Rangers’ AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, remains in the fold for now.

Artemi Panarin Enters COVID Protocol

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Shortly ahead of their matinee game Sunday against Tampa Bay, New York Rangers forward Artemi Panarin entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol along with assistant coach Mike Kelly, according to the team. In a corresponding move, the team recalled forward Morgan Barron from the taxi squad to have an extra forward on the active roster.

The 30-year-old Panarin has 10 goals and 26 assists through 31 games this year to lead the team in points. It will be just his second missed game of the season.

Panarin played the Rangers’ two post-holiday break games after leaving the team’s December 15 game against Arizona with an undisclosed injury.

If Panarin is out for the five-day quarantine period, then he’ll miss three games. He could return January 8 against Anaheim, missing games against Tampa Bay, Edmonton, and Vegas.

 

Gerard Gallant Named Head Coach Of Team Canada

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He’s been away from the NHL for a little while, but that doesn’t mean Gerard Gallant has forgotten how to coach. The veteran bench boss has been named the head coach for Team Canada at the upcoming 2021 IIHF World Championship. Gallant will be joined by assistants Mike Kelly and Andre Tourigny. Hockey Canada CEO Tom Renney released a statement on the decision to bring in Gallant:

We are fortunate to lean on the professional and executive experience that all three gentlemen will bring as Canada gets set for the IIHF World Championship in Latvia. Gerard and Mike have worked together both at the NHL and junior level and have an understanding of what it takes to compete and win. André complements them with his extensive coaching résumé and recent experience at the World Juniors. We believe we have selected a group that will build on each other’s strengths and provide exceptional leadership, with input from Roberto [Luongo] and the Olympic management group, as our team prepares to compete for a gold medal.

This won’t be the first time that Gallant is behind the bench of Team Canada. He served as an assistant at the World Championship in 2007 and 2017 and was also an assistant at the 2016 World Cup. His last full-time coaching position was with the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2019-20 season when he was replaced midseason by Pete DeBoer.

While this could just be Hockey Canada taking advantage of a coach with nothing else to do, it’s easy to see this move for Gallant as a way to get back into the swing of coaching before taking a job next season. Very well respected around the league, his name has been linked to several upcoming vacancies including the Seattle Kraken, who have yet to name their first coach in franchise history. Gallant of course served as that pioneer for the Golden Knights, taking Vegas to the Stanley Cup Final in year one.

Kelly at one point served as an assistant for Gallant in the QMJHL and was actually the coach who took over the Saint John Seadogs when he left for a role with the Montreal Canadiens in 2012. Tourigny meanwhile was recently hired as a full-time coach by Hockey Canada, serving on several staffs over the next year.

The IIHF World Championship is set to start on May 21 in Riga, Latvia.

Vegas Golden Knights Fire Gerard Gallant, Hire Peter DeBoer

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Thursday: Gallant was supposed to coach the Pacific Division All-Star team at this month’s event, but will be replaced by Rick Tocchet of the Arizona Coyotes.

Wednesday: In shocking news this morning, the Vegas Golden Knights have decided to fire the first coach in franchise history, Gerard Gallant, and replace him with Peter DeBoer. Gallant’s assistant Mike Kelly has also been relieved of his duties. General manager Kelly McCrimmon released a statement on the move:

In order for our team to reach its full potential, we determined a coaching change was necessary. Our team is capable of more than we have demonstrated this season. We would like to thank Gerard and Mike for their service to the Vegas Golden Knights. They were both instrumental to the success we have enjoyed in our first two-plus seasons and we wish them all the best moving forward. In Peter DeBoer, we have a proven, experienced head coach who we believe can help us achieve our ultimate goal. We are excited to welcome Peter and his family to the Vegas Golden Knights organization. We look forward to a strong finish to the 2019-20 season with Peter at the helm and a successful tenure in the seasons to come.

Gallant was hired to lead the Golden Knights into their first season in 2017, and did more with a roster of misfits and castoffs than anyone expected. The expansion club got off to a fast start and never looked back, riding strong goaltending and breakout performances all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. Though they would lose in five games to the Washington Capitals, a 51-24-7 season was considered an unparalleled success for the expansion franchise and proved that Vegas was already a contender in the Western Conference.

That expectation of success only continued last season, when the Golden Knights once again made the playoffs with a 43-32-7 record. While that was a step backwards, the team still had 93 points and was within a goal of going to the second round after a brutal loss to the San Jose Sharks. This season saw more of that success, though a four-game losing streak now has the Golden Knights sitting just outside the playoff picture, tied with the Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets but having played two more games.

Perhaps it is that losing streak that did him in, as Gallant’s dismissal has been called completely “performance based.” The team has regressed in terms of points percentage since they started, but how much you can blame that on the coach is unclear. It’ll be DeBoer’s opportunity to show that he can turn things around, with a third of the season still remaining.

Speaking of DeBoer, he gets a new job after only being fired himself a month ago. The former Sharks bench boss is back in business after being let go earlier this season, and will start in with his fourth team. The two-time Stanley Cup finalist has never won the ultimate prize, but does have a .550 winning percentage across 855 career games behind the bench.

Vegas Golden Knights Officially Hire Mike Kelly

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As expected from previous reports, the Vegas Golden Knights have hired Mike Kelly as an assistant coach for their upcoming inaugural season. Kelly had previously worked with head coach Gerard Gallant with the Florida Panthers and Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL. The Vegas coach had this to say about his new assistant:

I am very excited to be working with Mike again. We enjoyed success in both Florida and Saint John and I am eager to bring that success to the Golden Knights. Mike is a great guy with a wealth of hockey knowledge and I couldn’t be happier with the decision to bring him to Las Vegas.

In 2010-11 with Saint John the pair won a QMJHL Championship before going on to hoist the Memorial Cup. They would repeat as Q champions and return to the CHL’s top tournament a year later, though they could not overcome the host team. In Florida, they success last year winning the Atlantic Division and getting the Panthers back to the playoffs, though an early exit at the hands of the Islanders awaited them in the postseason.

The pair will now try to mold the upstart expansion team into something of a culture, though the first few years may be lean on talent up front. There are several options from their Saint John days that could make an appearance, as Tomas Jurco, Stanislav Galiev and Eric Gelinas all played big roles on the Gallant-led teams.

Mike Kelly To Join Golden Knights’ Coaching Staff

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Former Florida Panthers Assistant Coach Mike Kelly will be joining Gerard Gallant behind the bench in Las Vegas this fall.

This news comes from TSN insider Darren Dreger, who says an official announcement regarding Kelly and other assistant coaches is a few weeks away.

Read more: Gerard Gallant Named Vegas’ Head Coach

Kelly has previously served alongside Gallant when the pair were in Florida from 2014 to 2016. Both men were fired last November after the Panthers won 11 of their first 22 games.

Prior to his time in Florida, Kelly spent four years with the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs, spending two years as the Director of Hockey Operations and Associate Head Coach before being promoted to Head Coach and General Manager. The Sea Dogs won the Memorial Cup in 2011. Kelly has also been a head coach or assistant in the AHL, OHL, WHL, Canadian University hockey, and both the U-18 and U-20 Team Canada teams.

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