Less than a season removed from the Panthers’ best year in franchise history, Florida is firing head coach Gerard Gallant. General Manager Tom Rowe will assume coaching duties in the interim.
Florida Panthers fire head coach Gerard Gallant after team starts the season 11-10-1
From Jack Adams finalist to fired in less than a year.
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
The news came down that Gallant was fired late Sunday evening, just hours after the Panthers’ 3-2 loss to the Hurricanes. Florida holds a 11-10-1 record and is currently fifth in the Atlantic Division with 23 points. Last year, the Panthers set a single-season franchise record with 47 wins and 103 points before dropping out in the first round to the New York Islanders.
That was enough to earn Gallant a spot as the head coach of the Atlantic Division All-Star team last season. He was also a finalist last year for the NHL’s head coach of the year award, the Jack Adams. The Panthers gave Gallant an extension last year, but Sportsnet reporter Elliotte Friedman believes differences in team direction spurred the move.
The firing is a surprising one, though, considering how fresh Gallant’s success was with the Panthers. Florida overhauled its front office during the summer, firing its director of player personnel among other moves that have made way for a new analytics-driven system.
Gallant was seen attempting to wave down a taxi after the loss in Raleigh. The Panthers play the Blackhawks on Tuesday.
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