Gerard Gallant

Gerard Gallant (born September 2, 1963) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former player.

He was most recently the head coach of the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL).

As a junior, Gallant played for three teams in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League: the Sherbrooke Castors (1980–81, 1981–82), the St. Jean Beavers (1982–83), and the Verdun Juniors (1982–83).

Gallant served as team captain during his final year in juniors.

After his first junior season in 1981, Gallant finished as runner-up to Claude Verret in voting for 1980–81 Michel Bergeron Trophy as QMJHL offensive rookie of the year.

Gallant was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft, sixth round, 107th overall.

Gallant made his professional debut with the Adirondack Red Wings of the American Hockey League (AHL) in 1983.

At the age of 19, he was the youngest regular on the roster.

Spending the full 1983–84 season in the minor league, he finished with 31 goals, 64 points and 195 penalty minutes in 77 games.

Gallant split the 1984–85 season between the AHL and NHL, making his Detroit Red Wings debut against the New York Islanders on January 22, 1985.

In his first game, he scored against Islanders' goaltender Billy Smith in the second period of a 5–4 Detroit victory that snapped a 12-game Red Wings' winless streak.

In his second game, he fought Rangers' forward Bob Brooke.

Gallant opened the 1985–86 season as a full-time regular with the Red Wings.

However, in a December 11 game against the Minnesota North Stars, he suffered a broken jaw during a fight with Dirk Graham.

Gallant's jaw had to be wired-shut for six weeks, causing him to miss six weeks of games.

When he returned, he sported a football-style face mask on his helmet.

He ultimately appeared in 52 games, scoring 20 goals with 39 points and 106 penalty minutes.

Gallant was part of an unfortunate incident in a November 26, 1986, game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Red Wings in Detroit.

During a scrum in front of the Leafs net, Gallant accidentally cut the face of Börje Salming with his skate blade after Salming had been knocked down.

The injury required facial surgery and more than two hundred stitches to Salming's face.

Gallant's career took off after Jacques Demers was hired as the Red Wings head coach in 1986.

In his next four seasons he averaged 36 goals, 80 points, and 235 penalty minutes.

While he never played in the All-Star Game, he was named to the NHL All Star Second Team for the 1988–89 NHL season.

Injuries, mostly to his back, caused Gallant to miss over 30 games over the 1990–91 NHL season.

In March 1991, he was forced to undergo surgery to remove a bone spur from his back, causing him to miss the rest of the regular season and the playoffs.

Gallant returned to the Wings as a full-time regular for the 1991–92 and 1992–93 seasons.

He provided his usual physical presence and finished with a +16 and +20 plus/minus rating; however was unable to duplicate his scoring prowess and the Wings did not offer him a contract to return.

On July 22, 1993, Gallant signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

He played in 51 games with the Lightning in 1993–94 and one game in the lockout-shortened 1995 season, along with 16 games with the Atlanta Knights, the Lightning's top farm team in the International Hockey League (IHL).

On October 23, 1995, Gallant signed as a free agent with the Detroit Vipers of the IHL, and was off to a good start with two goals and an assist in three games.

However, on November 5, 1995, he suffered a career-ending back injury in practice and was forced to retire at the age of 32.

He has previously served as the head coach for the Columbus Blue Jackets (2004–2006), Florida Panthers (2014–2016) and Vegas Golden Knights (2017–2020).

He is a three-time finalist for the Jack Adams Award for NHL coach of the year, winning the award in 2018 for the Golden Knights' first season.

He was also a two-time Canadian Hockey League (CHL) coach of the year during his tenure with the Saint John Sea Dogs, where the team secured two President's Cup victories and one Memorial Cup.

Gallant previously played eleven seasons in the NHL, primarily for the Detroit Red Wings, but also including a short stint with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Gallant was born in Summerside, Prince Edward Island.

He grew up near a local ice rink and was often found sweeping the stands with his buddies in exchange for extra ice time.

Gallant has had the nickname "Turk" since he was three or four years old.

Gallant stated that when he first got to the NHL, a lot of the guys also called him "Spuddy" because of Prince Edward Island's reputation as the potato capital of Canada.

While playing for the Summerside Crystals of the Maritime Junior A Hockey League at the age of 16, he netted 60 goals and 115 points in just 45 games.