Vegas Golden Knights Hire Peter DeBoer as New Head Coach

Vegas Golden Knights Hire Peter DeBoer As 2nd Head Coach

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The Vegas Golden Knights fired head coach Gerard Gallant and his assistant Mike Kelly after a disappointing road 4-2 loss last Tuesday night to the Buffalo Sabers that knocked the Knights out of the Western Conference Playoff race. Coach Gallant was 118-75-20 (.529) in the regular season with a 16-11 (.592) playoff record and a Stanly Cup Finals appearance, earning him the Jack Adams Award for NHL Coach of the Year.

 

 

Coach Gallant opened the expansion Las Vegas franchise and took off, leading the new franchise to the best record in the NHL at 51-24-7, topping it off with an epic playoff run only losing to Washington in the Stanly Cup Finals. Then an encore performance the following season going 43-32-7 landing at the #3 seed in Western Conference Playoffs. But the disappointing loss to the San Jose Sharks sent the Golden Knights home early.

 

So it was no surprise coming into this season the Golden Knights organization, and its fan base had high hopes for the season.

 

But after the stellar seasons that coach Gallant had opening the expansion franchise, the organization felt that some consistency issues with the team this season prompted them to make a change at head coach. With that, the Vegas Golden Knights hired new head coach Peter DeBoer; the name may ring a bell because coach Deboer was the head coach of the San Jose Sharks last season, the very team that knocked the Golden Knights out of the playoffs in a seven-game series.

 

Coach DeBoer has a long history coaching in the NHL, leading three different franchises and two of them to the Stanly Cup Finals, one of which being the San Jose Sharks. Coach Deboer was in San Jose as the Head Coach for five seasons going 198-129-34 (.548), 32-28 (.533), and in 2015 lead them to a Stanley Cup Finals in his first year as the head man, losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Coach Deboer also had stints in New Jersey where he was 114-93-41(.459) with an appearance in the Stanley cup finals in 2012 against the Los Angeles Kings, and a three-season stint in Florida going 103-107-36 (.418). Coach Deboer made the playoffs four out of five years in San Jose before he was unceremoniously fired earlier this season after a 15-16-2 (.454) start to the season.

Deboer began his tenure with the Golden Knights last Thursday against the Ottowa Senators and came away with a 4-2 victory. Honestly, the franchise still has some life in its season and opportunities forthcoming; the Golden Knights are only three points out of first place in the Pacific Division. The team is experienced, has one of the best goalies in Hockey in Mark-Andre’ Fleury, with a substantial opportunity to sneak in the playoff race with over 30 games left in the season.

 

Thursday was an excellent opportunity for the Golden Knights to get back on track and break their recent four-game losing streak. To do so with their new coach who has more than proven his worth in the NHL with an overall record of 416-329-111, five playoff appearances and two Stanley Cup Finals appearances in the last ten years.

 

The Knights will close out the month on the road; the next four games will be against the Hurricanes, Predators, Lightning, and the Florida Panthers.

 

Coach Gallant did a phenomenal job as the lead man for the Golden Knights franchise, what he did in Las Vegas was record-setting and propelled the Golden Knights franchise to the forefront of the NHL. He was a stellar coach and will always be remembered by Golden Knights fans.

Peter DeBoer     Peter DeBoer     Peter DeBoer     Peter DeBoer     Peter DeBoer

 

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