Vegas decided they need to move on from Gallant, Kelly

OTTAWA — The best advice anybody can live by if they’re headed for Vegas is that you’ve got to know when to hold them and know when to fold them.

In the case of Vegas Golden Knights’ general manager Kelly McCrimmon, he decided Wednesday morning it was time to throw in the towel on coach Gerard (Turk) Gallant. So less than 24 hours after the Knights lost their fourth straight in a 4-2 decision to the Buffalo Sabres Tuesday, Gallant was sent packing and replaced by former San Jose coach Peter DeBoer.

While McCrimmon was short on specifics, it sure sounds like he didn’t like the hand Gallant was dealing in the dressing room and so after 30 months or so with the NHL’s expansion team he’s finished. DeBoer, let go last month by the Sharks, was expected to arrive in Ottawa Wednesday night and will make his debut behind the bench against the Senators tonight at the Canadian Tire Centre.

Assistant coach Mike Kelly was also fired with Gallant, who only weeks ago was named the head coach of the Pacific Division all-star team at the festivities set for Jan. 24-25 in St. Louis.

“Sometimes you have a feeling that something isn’t the way you need it to be or want it to be,” McCrimmon said in a hastily called news conference in Ottawa. “We feel we’ve underperformed a little bit and certainly not to pile it on the feet of Mike and Gerard.

“But sometimes you feel a change is needed. That’s what went into the decision and like anything we do, we try to do what we genuinely believe is in the best interests of the Golden Knights’ organization and we believe that’s the case.”

The Knights are on the outside of the NHL’s playoff picture. McCrimmon felt if this move was made now it would give the organization time to get back on track before it’s too late and the team is in a free-fall.

The Knights head into tonight’s game 4-6-0 in their last 10 games.

“It wasn’t a specific block of games or a specific game. It’s hard to put into words unless you’ve done these jobs but it’s more just the feeling you have that a change might be needed,” he said. “I wish I could be more specific than that but that’s really how we felt.

“We thought about this a lot but it was certainly wasn’t something we did in haste or in the recent four games, it was a decision that was arrived at over time.”

Many will tell you Gallant has done a spectacular job with the Knights and that’s why this decision was so surprising. So, why did they turn to DeBoer? “Peter’s a really good coach and he’s had a lot of success in the NHL,” McCrimmon added.

“With him working most recently in the Pacific Division, we’ve had a chance to watch his teams play and that his teams are very well prepared and very well coached.”