New York Rangers hiring Gerard Gallant as new head coach

June 14 (UPI) -- The New York Rangers are hiring former Vegas Golden Knights skipper Gerard Gallant as their next head coach.

League sources told ESPN, TSN and the New York Post on Monday that Gallant is receiving a four-year contract from the Rangers. The club has yet to confirm the agreement.

The 57-year-old Gallant was the first head coach of the Golden Knights and guided the team to an improbable Stanley Cup Final berth in Vegas' inaugural season (2017-18). The club fired him in January 2020 and replaced him with former San Jose Sharks coach Peter DeBoer.

Gallant spent the last year coaching outside of the NHL. He recently led Team Canada to a gold medal at the IIHF World Championships after the team began the tournament with a 0-3 record.

Gallant, who won the Jack Adams Award in 2018 as the league's top coach, has a 270-216-4-51 career record over nine NHL seasons as a head coach. He also spent time behind the bench for the Florida Panthers and Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Rangers fired former head coach David Quinn and three of his assistants in May. Quinn, who was hired away from Boston University, had just completed the third year of a five-year deal with the Rangers.

The organization also parted ways with general manager Jeff Gorton and team president John Davidson and promoted former player Chris Drury to both roles.