Islanders reportedly get permission to speak with Gerard Gallant about coaching vacancy

At first, when the New York Islanders canned coach Jack Capuano on Tuesday, it seemed like they were ready to wait out the rest of the season with Doug Weight handling the interim coaching duties.

Now, it’s not so clear.

Late on Tuesday, Canadian hockey media began reporting that the Islanders had sought and been granted permission to speak with former Florida Panthers coach Gerard Gallant. Gallant, as you’ll recall, was fired a month ago and unceremoniously left in a taxi on a road trip.

He’s still under contract with the Panthers, however, so their permission was required before the Islanders could speak with Gallant.

That last nugget from TSN’s Bob McKenzie is interesting, as it indicates Islanders GM Garth Snow has been considering this coaching move for quite a while now. But it’s also at odds with the tone Snow set when discussing the Capuano firing on Tuesday, where he seemed ready to let Weight take the helm for the immediate future.

“This is an organizational decision. It’s not a dictatorship. There’s lots of dialogue, all throughout the organization, when big decisions were made,” general manager Garth Snow said. “At the end of the day, I don’t think that Jack was going to be a coach that we were going to bring back. To name Dougie Weight the interim head coach, we can start our coaching search now and not worry about the ramifications of that with Jack as the head coach.”

Whether the Islanders’ interest in Gallant means an imminent hiring is ahead remains to be seen. It’s worth noting that Gallant is probably the most sought-after free agent head coach on the market right now, having led the Panthers to a franchise-best season just a year ago.