The Vegas Golden Knights have fired head coach Gerard Gallant and named Peter DeBoer as his replacement, the team announced on Wednesday.
The team also relieved assistant coach Mike Kelly of his duties. DeBoer will join the Golden Knights on Thursday in Ottawa ahead of the team’s game against the Senators.
“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,” Vegas Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon said in a team statement. “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.”
Both Gallant and Kelly have been with the Golden Knights since the expansion team entered the NHL in the 2017-18 season, leading the team to the Stanley Cup Final in the franchise’s inaugural campaign. Overall, Gallant had a 213-118-75 record over two and a half seasons in Vegas, which included winning the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year in 2017-18, but the team has struggled in first weeks of 2020. The Golden Knights have won just twice since the calendar turned and have lost four straight games, dropping to fifth place in the tight Pacific Division and outside of the Western Conference wild-card spots with a 24-19-6 record.
DeBoer was fired by the San Jose Sharks on Dec. 11 after that team struggled over the first two months of the season, but had coached the Sharks to a 198-129-34 record over five seasons and a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2016. The 51-year-old has also coached the New Jersey Devils and Florida Panthers.
