GERARD GALLANT LEAVES THE NEW YORK RANGERS
By: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT – A day after the organizational joy of the Hartford Wolf Pack eliminating the Providence Bruins and advancing to play the Hershey Bears in the best-of-five Atlantic Division final, organizational intrigue returned to the New York Rangers.
After their player exit interviews following a seven-game, first-round series defeat to the New Jersey Devils and a fiery public media presser, Head coach Gerard Gallant agreed with New York Rangers President and General Manager Chris Drury to part company with the team on Saturday.
Gallant’s short two-year tenure as Head Coach follows David Quinn’s three seasons (2018-2021) and Alain Vigneault’s five (2013-2018).
The move leaves long-time Gallant assistant coach Mike Kelly and Kris Knoblauch’s former Wolf Pack assistant coach Gord Murphy as the two lone sheriffs left at the Rangers saloon at MSG.
The question now is whether either of them will be retained or will either or both be shipped out.
POSSIBLE REPLACEMENTS
Joel Quenneville, the ex-Hartford Whaler, is having his name bandied about even at last night’s game in Hartford before the announcement.
The fly-in-the-ointment to hiring Quenneville is that it will require league approval after he was forced to step down in Florida in the wake of the awful Kyle Beach affair in Chicago.
Beach played a half-season in Hartford as the scandal unfolded behind the scenes.
Quenneville had a small but significant enough role to be banished from Florida over it.
KNOBLAUCH?
It still leaves Knoblauch in consideration as a possible successor to Gallant. In addition, Knoblauch has received attention for the significant turnaround of the Wolf Pack’s fortunes over the last seven weeks and the first two rounds of the American League playoffs.
Knoblauch also had two successful call-ups during COVID; one with Gallant and an earlier one with Quinn. Both players and management universally lauded Knoblauch’s calm demeanor.
Will that be want management wants, and is he even interested in coaching at the NHL level? Knoblauch was an assistant coach in Philadelphia before arriving in Hart City.
At the time, Knobaluch was not the first choice for Hartford when he arrived four years ago.
The Rangers will likely be dismantled in some fashion by, during, and after the NHL Entry Draft to be held in Nashville.
The spring/summer just got more interesting in Rangers country.
