Gallant ‘disappointed and surprised’ by firing from Golden Knights

BOSTON — Former Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant spoke publicly about his firing for the first time Saturday night and told the Journal Pioneer newspaper in Prince Edward Island he was surprised by the move.

“You don’t see something coming like that when you have 2½ years in,” Gallant told the paper in his hometown of Summerside. “I was disappointed and surprised, but I understand the hockey business and things have to change sometimes. They made a tough decision and I’m sure it was tough on them, but that’s the way hockey is.”

Gallant was attending a Maritime Junior Hockey League game Saturday in Summerside. His son, Jason, is an assistant coach with the Summerside Western Capitals.

Gallant, 56, said he was notified of the team’s decision to fire him and assistant coach Mike Kelly in Ottawa on Wednesday, and Gallant spent the next three days visiting his grandchildren in Moncton, New Brunswick.

The Knights were 24-19-6 and lost four straight to fall out of a playoff position at the time of Gallant’s dismissal.

Gallant was named the coach of the Pacific Division team for Saturday’s All-Star Game at St. Louis based on the Knights having the division’s highest points percentage at the season’s official halfway point.

Gallant told the paper the NHL let him decide whether he wanted to coach in the event, but said didn’t feel comfortable attending. Arizona coach Rick Tocchet was named as Gallant’s replacement.

“I was an all-star coach a week and a half ago and we were in first place in our division, and then things change and we lost four in a row,” Gallant said. “They made a decision, it isn’t too popular with me, but it is what it is and you have to move on.

“I’m not going to worry about the past. I’m going to look at the future, and that’s what you have to do as a coach.”

Gallant was 118-75-20 and guided the Knights to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season. The Knights qualified for the playoffs last season but were eliminated in the first round by rival San Jose after a controversial loss in Game 7.

Kelly returned to Las Vegas after being fired, according to the Journal Pioneer, but Gallant’s longtime assistant couldn’t be reached for comment.

“The 2½ years were incredible,” Gallant said. “That first year was a magical season. If we could have capped it off winning the Stanley Cup, it would have been incredible. The second year was a really good year, too. We made the playoffs, battled hard.

“Up until I got fired, I had 2½ years of being really happy in Vegas. It’s a good organization, a good team and I was excited.”

Gallant said he wants to coach again in the NHL. He has already been linked as a possible candidate for the Seattle expansion team and in Detroit, which is buried at the bottom of the NHL standings and could be looking to move on from coach Jeff Blashill.

Gallant spent nine seasons with the Red Wings as a player and was a linemate of current Detroit general manager Steve Yzerman.

In the meantime, Gallant told the Journal Pioneer he will divide his time between Prince Edward Island and visiting his grandchildren in New Brunswick.

“If an opportunity comes up, I will definitely look at it — myself and Mike,” Gallant told the paper. “Mike is a big part of what I do, too, and sometimes people forget about the assistant coaches. Mike is a good man, we have been together for a long time.

“It’s not just me, Mike is part of that, too. We will get ready and, hopefully, something comes up.”

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.