The New York Rangers are no strangers to bringing home postseason hardware. Last season, Igor Shesterkin was awarded the Vezina Trophy for the top goaltender; the season before, Adam Fox won the Norris Trophy for the league’s best defenseman. Though, even when Rangers members are not winning league awards, several of them receive nomination for the various trophies as well. Such was the case for Rangers’ coach, Gerard Gallant.
Gallant was a finalist for the Jack Adams award, for the best coach in the NHL. He has a Jack Adams in his repertoire already from several seasons prior, but he may be a more serious contender this season for another one, especially if his team builds off their success from 2021-22.
At 59 years of age, he enters his second season behind the Rangers bench. His addition to the club was critical to take the team to the next level, especially with the years of experience he brings. Sure enough, the impact was immediate. As a coach who knows how to maximize his roster, he also benefits from having a loaded roster like this Blueshirts team, thus a perfect match for prolonged success.
Over his years of coaching, Gallant led several teams, all in different phases. With each new team brings a new challenge for any coach but he proved he is able to jump right in and lead this young team. He is not afraid to make controversial decisions either — the Game 6 Kaapo Kakko scratch of Round 3 comes to mind.
Of course, it is near impossible to know what happens behind the scenes but the players seem to appreciate their coach. Such was echoed by newcomer, Vincent Trocheck, who played for Gallant previously with the Florida Panthers. Though Trocheck is not the only Ranger to praise Gallant, the coach can’t win awards for praise alone.
What It Would Take to Win the 2022-23 Award
This is a young team he is working with this time and it’s time for the youth to receive more opportunities under his leadership. If Gallant takes the leap to promote the younger players and shows he can provide that final push, then he should absolutely be a frontrunner for the Jack Adams.
With preseason concluding tonight, Gallant and his staff have several decisions to make before the regular season commences. This is a golden opportunity for the younger players to be dispersed higher throughout the lines. The coach, also notorious for line shuffling, has more than enough options to swivel out kids.
While he is not known as a “developmental” coach necessarily, this is an opportunity for him to add this skill to his tool belt. With young talent like Kakko and Alexis Lafrenière still in the very early stages of their career, Gallant is in a position to really set the kids up this season by giving them top minutes or specials teams time.
Related: Rangers’ Kakko & Chytil Poised to Improve This Season
After all, the kids were very much a part of the 2021-22 postseason highlight reel and even some of the preseason matchups. Assuming that Gallant agrees the kids earned a promotion this season would help build a stronger case for the coaching award. Indeed, he will be up against solid candidates as he was last season with winner Darryl Sutter of the Calgary Flames and runner-up Andrew Brunette of the Panthers.
The Rangers will also need to improve their even-strength scoring this season. The team experienced a very special season with a Vezina performance in net and outstanding special teams. Gallant and his Rangers will need to prove once again they are the real deal; if this area improves significantly, the team will be in much better shape, and once again, builds a stronger case for Gallant’s talents as a coach.
The Gallant Approach
Many qualities must work together to make up the ideal coach. For Gallant, there is nothing fancy about his coaching style and his players know what to expect. Such was the case when the coach was displeased with the Rangers’ second-to-last preseason game.
Not only does Gallant convey his thoughts verbally, but he sends the message in all forms, in this instance, with a more challenging practice. He acknowledged being angry does not prepare his players and realizes sending a message through action is likely more effective.
The second-year Blueshirts leader also has the right approach when it comes to this season; it is a clean slate. “We played great hockey. I knew we were a good team, but we beat some great teams and we deserved to beat those teams in the playoffs. It was a great experience for our players, but that means nothing,” said the coach. This mindset should relieve some pressure from the less experienced players as they try to outperform last season’s form (from ‘Gerard Gallant’s focus is on a new Rangers battle’, New York Post, 9/21/22).
With this fresh beginning approach and several lost players due to free agency, the team composition is slightly altered, but again, leaves spots for younger players to grab. Yet, he is going to make sure players who grab the spots actually earn them — favoritism is very much not in his vocabulary.
The Hockey Writers’ Predictions
In fact, the majority of the writers here at The Hockey Writers foresee Gallant receiving the award. While, yes, the Rangers are a talented team, there is no denying the coach’s role in helping the team stay alive in the postseason and overcome series deficits. With little to no experience for the players to lean on, they leaned on the coach, who does know all about playoffs.
Despite his status as a finalist last season, he was not highly favored to win. Of course, many factors go into the Jack Adams race and it is an exciting time to witness the team and Gallant leading them. However, this season is a new story and plenty of opportunities lie ahead for the coach to pick up a second award.