Gerard Gallant was introduced as the third head coach in Saint John Sea Dogs history on April 24, 2009.

In his first season behind the bench in the Port City, Gallant led the Sea Dogs to a franchise record 53 wins and 309 goals scored, earning Saint John both the Jean Rougeau Trophy as QMJHL regular season champions and Luc Robitaille Trophy as the league’s top offensive squad. The Summerside, P.E.I., native was awarded the 2009-10 Ron Lapointe Trophy as QMJHL Coach of the Year and the Brian Kilrea Trophy as CHL Coach of the Year, as he took the Dogs to the President’s Cup final.

Gallant’s second season was even more successful, as the team tied the QMJHL record with 58 wins. The Sea Dogs won a second straight Jean Rougeau Trophy as regular-season champions, to go along with the Luc Robitaille Trophy as the top scoring team (club record 324 goals) and the Robert Lebel Trophy as the best defensive team (club record 165 goals against). Gallant again won both the QMJHL and CHL Coach of the Year awards, this time leading the team to its first President’s Cup championship, a six-game triumph over the league’s most successful franchise, the Gatineau Olympiques, in the final. Saint John then won three of four games at the MasterCard Memorial Cup, including the final over the host Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors, to become the first Atlantic Canadian team to win the trophy in its 93-year history, capping a memorable season in Saint John hockey history.

Prior to joining the Sea Dogs, Gallant served as an NHL assistant coach with the New York Islanders during the 2007-08 season. He also spent seven years on the coaching staff of the Columbus Blue Jackets, serving as the team’s head coach from Jan. 1, 2004 to Nov. 13, 2006. Gallant was behind the bench as an assistant coach with Team Canada at the 2007 IIHF World Championships in Russia, capturing gold at the tournament.

Before joining the Blue Jackets, Gerard was an assistant coach with the American Hockey League’s Louisville Panthers (1999-2000) and led the Summerside Western Capitals to a Kent Cup Championship in 1997 as the MJAHL team’s head coach. During a highly-successful playing career, Gallant appeared in 615 games in the NHL as a member of the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning, tallying 211G-269A-480P-1674PIM over the course of eleven seasons. Originally selected by Detroit in the sixth round (107th overall) of the 1981 NHL Entry Draft, Gallant enjoyed a standout major junior career with the Sherbrooke/St. Jean Beavers and Verdun Juniors, recording 129G-192A-321P-724PIM during his three-year run in the QMJHL. Gallant also led Sherbrooke to a President’s Cup Championship in 1982, contributing 14G-24A-38P to the Beavers’ playoff drive that year.