NEW YORK — In isolation, it seems as though Gerard Gallant was a very successful coach for the New York Rangers.
In 164 regular season games with Gallant behind the bench, the Rangers posted a record of 99-46-19, good for 217 points and a point percentage of .662. He also guided the Rangers to the Eastern Conference finals a year ago.
This year, however, the Rangers were bounced from the postseason in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, a disappointing result after having added star power in Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane prior to the trade deadline.
Add it all up, and Gallant's playoff record with the Rangers was 13-14, and quite simply not good enough. That's especially true considering they were up 2-0 last year against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Cup semifinals, and also up 2-0 on the New Jersey Devils this season in the opening round.
Hence, a "mutual" parting of ways that was announced on May 6.
Gallant was hired following the dismissal of predecessor David Quinn, who was seen as more of a disciplinarian. Gallant, however, is typically a players' coach. For Locked on Rangers host Jon Chik, it begs the question as to what kind of coach they bring in next.
The Rangers will be hiring their third coach in four years, and that's not a very good look, according to Chik.
And at this point, the focus will turn to Chris Drury seeing as general managers only get so many coaching hires before the onus falls on them.
"I have a ton of respect for Gerard as both a coach and a person, and truly appreciate everything he did for us on and off the ice these last two seasons", Drury said of the decision.
"After my evaluation of the season and discussions with Gerard, we mutually came to the conclusion that a change would be beneficial for both parties. I wish he and his family all the best in the future. Our search for a new head coach will begin right away."
For his part, Gallant will be free to explore the other coaching vacancies that exist around the NHL.