No the Capitals shouldn’t hire Gerard Gallant

There is a new head coach on the market as the Washington Capitals continue their search for the right bench boss. The New York Rangers parted ways mutually with Gerard Gallant which begs the question should the Caps go for him?

Hard pass.

After the Rangers took a commanding 2-0 lead on the New Jersey Devils, their Garden City counterparts rallied to win the series in seven games which included a 4-0 route in Game 7.

Larry Brooks of the New York Post was the first to report the news. Both sides agreed to part ways after two seasons behind the bench. Gallant went 99-46-19 with the Rangers. Last season they made it to the Conference Finals.

The Rangers went for the home run at the trade deadline adding some superstar talent in Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane. They learned the hard way that it takes a team effort and not superstar rosters to make a Cup run.

But I was hearing from multiple league sources on twitter that the decision to part ways was in large part due to internal discussions from players on exit interviews.

Peter Laviolette obviously did not work in D.C. Gallant won’t work there either.

Before the Caps hired Laviolette they actually talked to Gallant. Gallant of course would later wind up with the Rangers a year later. He is familiar with the Caps having faced them as head coach for the brand new Vegas Golden Knights in the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals.

Yes he knows how to win. But winning regular season games mean nothing. And we need a coach here that can bring the players young and old together in the locker room. Gallant is not the guy. A Jeff Halpern or a Bruce Boudreau might be.

So that’s why the Caps shouldn’t hire Gallant. There’s plenty of other options.