Gerard Gallant has missed coaching. He's missed being around hockey people, the players and the staff. He's missed going to the rink.
Next month, approximately 16 months after he was fired, Gallant will be back behind a bench. On Wednesday, Hockey Canada announced the longtime coach will lead Canada's men's team at the 2021 IIHF World Championship. The tournament will run from May 21 to June 6 in Riga, Latvia, and will mark his third time on Canada's coaching staff; Gallant was part of Andy Murray's gold medal-winning staff in 2007 and Jon Cooper's silver-medal crew in 2017.
"I'm looking forward to it," Gallant, the 2018 Jack Adams Award winner who famously coached Vegas to the 2018 Stanley Cup Final, said on a Zoom call with reporters. "Anytime you get the opportunity to work with Team Canada, I was fortunate to be able to do it once as a player and this is the third time as a coach, and every time it's really exciting. I haven't had a lot to be excited [about] for the last 12 or 13 months but when they called me last week and give me the opportunity, it's been a different jump in your step."
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Back in January 2020, Gallant was fired by the Golden Knights in a shocking twist following a four-game skid. At the time, the team was three points back of the top spot in the Pacific Division; Vegas would go on to finish with the best points percentage in the division with Pete DeBoer at the helm.
After his dismissal, Gallant went back home to Prince Edward Island and spent time with his grandkids and family — and watched copious amounts of hockey.
"Not a whole lot of anything [to do]," he said, although he did add later that he played a lot of golf. "Waiting for another opportunity and [if] the right thing comes up, hopefully, get back at it. This is the first thing to come up and I jumped at the opportunity."
While most hockey minds expect the Summerside, P.E.I., native to be back behind an NHL bench soon enough — there could be a number of openings in addition to the expansion team, the Kraken — he's not looking too far ahead.
"No, I'm not worried about that one bit . . . I want to get back to work," Gallant said when discussing how Canada GM Roberto Luongo and assistant GM Shane Doan called him to offer him the job. "I want to get back to coaching hockey and doing the things that you'd be used to doing every day and I haven't had that opportunity for quite a while, with the COVID a little bit of reasoning.
"I'm just going over there to coach Team Canada and try to win a gold medal."
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Gallant will be joined on the bench by Mike Kelly and André Tourigny. Kelly and Gallant have a longstanding connection; Kelly served as Gallant's assistant with the QMJHL's Saint John Sea Dogs (2012-14) and the NHL's Panthers (2014-17) and Golden Knights (2017-20). Tourigny, whom Gallant knows from coaching against him in the QMJHL, was a part of Dale Hunter's gold medal-winning squad at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship and was the head coach for the silver-medal team in January.
For now, who will fill the roster is to be determined. Like juniors, the roster has been expanded this year and will be open to 28 players. Unlike the world junior bubble in Edmonton, Alta., and like a normal men's world championship, players can be added later than the initial arrival date.
Luongo noted he has not spoken to any players but will do so in the near future. He also added that with the 2022 Winter Olympics around the corner, this is a key opportunity for younger players or players on the bubble to get one more look.
The 2022 IIHF Men's World Championship will begin for Canada on May 21 against Latvia. The squad will also face Italy, Finland, Germany, Kazakhstan, Norway and the United States in the preliminary round.