The last time Gerard Gallant walked out of PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, was on Nov. 27, 2016, the night he was fired as the head coach of the Florida Panthers after losing to the Carolina Hurricanes. Last night when he walked out of PNC Arena, his job was not only as secure as it could possibly be, but his head was also held high with the number-one overall team in the National Hockey League.
Firing coaches is common among all of the major sports. For the most part, it isn’t entirely the coach’s fault that the team is doing badly. But management can’t exactly fire all the players, so what other choice does it have?
In Coach Gallant’s case, he deserves a lot of credit for what this team has accomplished 46 games into its inaugural season. These aren’t 20 skaters whom Gallant nurtured and coached for numerous seasons. Instead, they were literally dropped off at his door step, banished from the other 30 teams who thought they could do without them.
He used that mindset right from training camp and still does today, game by game, reminding them that they weren’t considered good enough to be protected in the expansion draft, earn double-digit minutes of ice time, or play on the first power-play unit.
Yes, when a new player comes in from a trade, or via the free agency route, he’s taught a system that the entire team has been playing for multiple seasons. Teaching one player is a lot easier than teaching 20+ at the same time. Gallant didn’t have that here; he was given 20+ players with bruised egos and not a clue as to what system they’d be employing in their major-league games.
So when you look at accomplishments of this team in 46 games, it’s unheard of, almost unimaginable, for them to be where they are. Trust me when I tell you that their coach is the main reason they’re where they are. He’s their foundation. He is Mount Gallant.
Here’s a video I took of a post-game press-conference a few games ago of Gerard Gallant, with his thick Canadian accent (he comes from Prince Edward Island).
They play as a team, they battle as a team, and they believe in themselves as a team. There are no real superstars. Sure, we have James Neal and Marc Andre Fleury, but they weren’t the go-to players on their previous teams. They were character guys, good team guys, and General Manager George McPhee did an amazing job of getting Gallant a solid core that he knew Gallant could mold quickly. Did George think this quickly? I would say not and the truth be told I’m sure even Gallant is somewhat surprised at how fast this team has jelled.
I’ve been following hockey for many years and I don’t have to look through the record books to say this with 100% certainty: There has never been a first-year team that, 46 games into a season, led the entire NHL.
They not only lead the league in points, they’ve scored the most goals in the Western Conference and the second most in the league; they’ve also given up the third fewest goals in the conference.
They lead the Pacific Division by 8 points. They lead the entire Western Conference by 3 points.
They have the best home record of all 31 teams.
They’re tied for second with the most road wins at 13.
They have a +34 in goal differential, third best in the NHL.
In their last 21 games, they have a record of 16-2-3, a huge factor in their climb to the top of Mount Gallant.
They may be the quickest team overall and they drive other teams crazy in their transition game. Last night, they scored three goals in the first 12:59 of the game, pretty much blowing the game wide open and chasing the Hurricane’s starting goaltender, Scott Darling, who gave up 3 goals on just 8 shots. Cam Ward replaced Darling and gave up 2 goals on 25 shots.
Once again, Fleury was fantastic, giving up only one goal on a power play late in the first period. He made 27 saves on 28 shots.
As for the VGK’s power-play unit, which has been the only hiccup for this team this season, they scored two goals on 4 attempts tonight. They’d previously been 0-19 over 8 games.
Need more evidence for how Gallant has them playing as a team? On the first 3 goals last night, 9 different players recorded a point.
Admittedly, they were up against a struggling Carolina team as of late, losing of their last 7 games. But don’t let that fool you. The VGK aren’t first in the league, because they’re playing inferior teams.
Tonight’s goal scorers for VGK: Jonathan Marchessault (17), Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (5), Colin Miller (6) PPG, James Neal (21) PPG, Brendan Leipsic (2).
The VGK return to Vegas for a two-game home stand with games tomorrow vs. Columbus and Thursday vs. the NY Islanders both games are at 7 p.m.
First team overall in the NHL. Say that three times or as many times as you want it. It just has a nice ring to it.
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