Gerard Gallant Named Head Coach of the Shanghai Dragons

The Shanghai Dragons have signed Gérard Gallant as the club’s new head coach for a two-year contract.

Sergey Belykh, CEO of the Shanghai Dragons:

– Our organisation has set exceptionally ambitious goals – relocating the team not just to another city, but to another country. We are moving to the Far East, into a market where the local audience still needs to be introduced to professional hockey. Our objective is to return to China as quickly as possible. While we have a maximum two-year window to accomplish this, our target is to make the move as early as next season. Achieving this will largely depend on how effectively we work with our Chinese partners and sponsors. To maintain strong interest in the club within China, we must deliver results from the outset – earning a playoff berth and pushing deep into the postseason.

We understood that building a strong team usually takes more than one season — the example of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl speaks for itself. Unfortunately, we don’t have that kind of time. That’s why the Dragons needed not just an experienced, high-profile head coach, but a specialist capable of building a competitive team in the shortest possible time.

That instantly reminded us of Vegas, a team that made it to the Stanley Cup Final in their very first season, with Gérard Gallant serving as head coach at the time. He also led Team Canada to a World Championship title. Once again having to turn a roster of largely unfamiliar teammates into a cohesive, high-performing unit in a very short time, Gallant delivered. As it turned out, Gallant emerged as the clear choice, meeting every single one of team’scriteria. We reached out to himoutlining club’s vision and key objectives. Having reviewed all the details, he’s officially on board. We look forward to welcoming him to Saint Petersburg once his visa is sorted — ready to join the team and get to work.

Profile

Gérard Gallant

Canada

In 2018, he led the Vegas Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final and was honored with the Jack Adams Award as NHL Coach of the Year. On the international stage, Gallant has twice captured the IIHF World Championship with Team Canada, in 2007 and 2021.His success extends to junior hockey as well, where he won the Memorial Cup in 2011 and claimed the QMJHL title back-to-back in 2011 and 2012.

Shanghai Dragons Media Department