Winnipeg, Manitoba • Gerard Gallant and Paul Maurice do not know each other well despite having their NHL coaching careers overlap for several years.
The men behind the benches for the Vegas Golden Knights and Winnipeg Jets, though, both have led their teams into the Western Conference final after following long, winding paths.
"It's quite a story for both of them," Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman said in a telephone interview.
Gallant was fired by the Florida Panthers with a winning record just 21 games into the 2016-17 season, leaving him to catch a cab outside the arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, after his belongings were unloaded from the bus.