A crazy part of it all: Under normal circumstances, which is to say the Golden Knights would have followed a traditional expansion journey and struggled along for several seasons before making any sort of real NHL noise, Gerard Gallant would have likely been the guy before the guy.
He would have kept the job warm for another.
Happens all the time with new franchises. It’s how things usually work.
Gallant was named the team’s first head coach as much for his demeanor as skill, because if the internal feeling matched all others and no one really believed much winning would occur for some time, a steady and patient hand was needed to navigate through the choppy waters of development.