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Last week, Kunlun Red Star rebranded as the Shanghai Dragons, paving the way for the team to finally make Gallant\u2019s hiring official.<\/p>\n
The franchise hasn\u2019t played in China since 2019-20, due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic in that country. The Dragons are based in St. Petersburg, Russia, this coming season, and plan to return to Shanghai for the 2026-27 season.<\/p>\n
Gallant agreed to a two-year contract and will join the Dragons \u201conce his visa is sorted,\u201d per team CEO Sergey Belykh. Once he arrives, Gallant has his work cut out for him. The franchise hasn\u2019t made the Gagarin Cup Playoffs in eight years and its roster still needs to be filled out before the regular season begins in September.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat instantly reminded us of Vegas [Golden Knights], a team that made it to the Stanley Cup Final in their very first season, with G\u00e9rard Gallant serving as head coach at the time,\u201d Belykh explained<\/a>. \u201cOnce again having to turn a roster of largely unfamiliar teammates into a cohesive, high-performing unit in a very short time, Gallant delivered.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Related: Chad Ruhwedel retires from NHL; ended career with Rangers, helped Penguins win Stanley Cup<\/a><\/p>\n Former Rangers coach Gerard Gallant \u2018clear choice\u2019 of Shanghai Dragons Geoff Burke-Imagn Images<\/p>\n Gallant hasn\u2019t coached professionally since the Rangers fired him<\/a> after the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Rangers were knocked out in the first round that spring. They blew a 2-0 series lead against the New Jersey Devils after winning the first two games on the road, ultimately dropping Game 7 at the Prudential Center.<\/p>\n Despite criticism that Gallant was badly outcoached by Lindy Ruff in that series, he had a very successful \u2014 albeit brief \u2014 run on Broadway. Gallant\u2019s .662 points percentage over two full seasons is\u00a0second-best in Rangers history<\/a>, behind only Mike Keenan (.667), who coached them to the Stanley Cup championship in 1993-94, his only season in New York.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The Rangers were 52-24-6 (110 points) in Gallant\u2019s first season behind the bench in 2021-22. He coached them to the 2022 Eastern Conference Final, where the Rangers faltered after a strong start and lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games. Along the way, Gallant and the Rangers outlasted the Pittsburgh Penguins (coached by Mike Sullivan), winning Game 7 of their first-round series on Artemi Panarin\u2019s overtime goal.<\/p>\n![\"NHL:](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/bd0d117e2ae1cc44f8ef50fb536e790c.jpeg\"\/)
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