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Rangers receive permission to interview Gallant, Leetch leaves organization
May 13, 2021, 10:09 PM ET [679 Comments]
Jan Levine
New York Rangers Blogger • RSS • Archive • CONTACT
The tumultuous offseason began even before the season ended. Thursday, the new making Rangers continue to potentially get some back page love. Earlier in the evening, it was reported that New York received permission to interview Gerard Gallant. Later, Brian Leetch resigned from his hockey operations advisory position with the team.

Gallant:




GM Chris Drury wanted to interview Gallant, who will be head coach of Team Canada in the World Championships, prior to him leaving for Latvia from May 21 to June 6. The "rush" to interview Gallant is more so due to timing than anything else. Having the initial conversation before Gallant is wise. Columbus is also expected to seek permission to interview Gallant.

You hire the right person, not the one you are afraid of losing, unless you think he is the right candidate. Rumors are that the team could interview six candidates. Names besides Gallant brought in could be Rick Tocchet, Bruce Boudreau, maybe Bob Hartley and MIke Babcock, Kris Knoblauch could get a courtesy interview.

Below are the current odds as to who will be the next head coach. Gallant is the odds-on favorite, though as we saw when David Quinn was hired, that means little. But, as larry Brooks noted the other day, Gallant, who helped take the expansion Vegas team to Cup Finals in Year 1 of that organization, believes in up-tempo, puck-pursuit, puck-pressure hockey. He has shown the ability to mix young and old players, building a cohesive unit both in Florida and in Vegas. However, his shelf has been short his last few stops, but if hired, he would have convinced Drury, Glen Sather and James Dolan that he is the one to take the team to that next level and beyond.

I talked with several individuals in the league familiar with Gallant. Their scouting reports were close to identical. To wit: Gallant is a no-nonsense guy who commands respect, communicates well with his players and staff but not necessarily the media and public. He is low-key and shuns the spotlight, but is not necessarily known for bringing structure to a team. He can coach prospects but cuts them little slack.




Leetch:

Leetch and Brad Richards were both hired by former GM Jeff Gorton back in 2017 as "hockey advisors." Their job descriptions included off-ice player and prospect development and assisting with on-ice development for the Wolf Pack. In addition, Leetch - like Mark Messier - was a face of the franchise, as a bridge to the fan base and part of community relations.



Drury asked Leetch to stay but he declined. Leetch and Quinn are very good friends and have known each other since they were in high school, so his firing most certainly had an impact on Leetch's decision. In addition, as Adam Rotter noted Leetch is also close with JD as Davidson was a Rangers broadcaster for Leetch’s entire career with the Rangers. To add to that mix, Gorton was the GM in Boston when Leetch was there for 2005-06.

Even though Leetch and Drury played together for Team USA at the 2002 Olympics and 2004 World Cup, the three factors above might have been the driving force for Leetch to leave the organization. Optically, not ideal. Is it a definite signal of issues, not necessarily, but when someone as beloved as Leetch leaves the organization even after Drury asked him stay, it has to be somewhat telling..

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