Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley wouldn’t admit that competition over Gerard Gallant explains why the team might hire its first head coach sooner than some expected.
Debates regarding a possible catalyst for an accelerated choice aside, it’s possible that decision could come before the end of the 2016-17 campaign, as Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.
“At this point, I’d say it’s 50-50 we have our head coach in place before the season’s over,” Foley said.
Interesting.
Management indicated that a head coach would be in place in late spring, according to Carp, so this would move things up at least a fair bit.
Of course, on the other hand, waiting until the regular season ends - or maybe even through a round or two of the playoffs - would likely give the Golden Knights a wider array of choices (though that would also open the door for more teams to seek those candidates).
The looming presence of the Golden Knights’ expansion draft may already make the trade deadline more dramatic and more complicated, but coaching considerations are another way the team can make an impact on other NHL franchises even before they’re truly in the mix.
(H/T to The Score.)
