George McPhee had plenty of options to consider when hiring the first head coach of the Vegas Golden Knights, but ultimately settled on Gerard Gallant for a variety of reasons, including his reputation with players.
The general manager of the expansion team announced the hiring on Thursday and later joined Prime Time Sports on Sportsnet 590 The FAN as a guest.
“We think he’ll help us attract players,” McPhee said of Gallant. “He has a very, very good reputation of being good to players and a good guy to play for. Things like that matter.”
Gallant was fired by the Florida Panthers in controversial fashion five months ago, but led the club in 2015-16 to a franchise-record 47 wins and first-place finish in the Atlantic Division.
“We felt that getting a guy like Gerard, who can bring a sense of calm, be patient and handle the players the right way, was really important here because it’s going to be hard,” said McPhee. “We’re a brand new team, we’re not going to have the players other teams have. It’s going to take us a little bit and we need someone with a plan and that steadiness to help us develop.”
McPhee acknowledged the Golden Knights initially considered hiring a coach who could act as a showman and help sell the game to fans in Las Vegas, but said it became less of a priority due to the already strong response in the city.
The GM also dismissed the notion that hiring Gallant would impact the team’s strategy in June’s expansion draft.
“I don’t think one has anything to do with the other,” he said. “This isn’t like football or some of the other sports where you have this identity and you’re drafting to the identity of the coach. There’s some of that in hockey but ideally we’re just going to pick the best players we can.”
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