Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer speaks to the media at an introductory press conference at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, on Jan. 16, 2020.
Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020 | 12:43 p.m.
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OTTAWA, Ontario — It was a jarring sight, watching him walk into his introductory press conference in Golden Knights gear, almost like looking at a Photoshop of your favorite player in your rival’s colors.
It’s reality though.
Peter DeBoer is the head coach of the Golden Knights, made official yesterday, then visualized Thursday as he joined the team after morning skating at Canadian Tire Centre. He knows who he is: The man his predecessor called a clown, and looked upon with disdain by fans and even some players not long ago.
His press conference though, was exactly what it needed to be. DeBoer was jovial, smiling his way through a 13-minute question-and-answer segment all the while laughing off the negativity that he’s known in Vegas for. It might take some time to get used to, but he eased the transition as well as he could.
“It’ll be a little awkward, but we’ll get through it,” he said. “Like meeting an ex, old girlfriend, or something that it didn’t end well.”
Players were equally surprised.
They were shocked Wednesday morning when informed that beloved coach Gerard Gallant had been let go and replaced with someone they’re not too fond of. Mark Stone said that 10 months ago he wouldn’t have had anything nice to say about DeBoer, the former San Jose coach. Same for Ryan Reaves.
Imagine the change from a player’s perspective. This outsider is coming in, someone that they didn’t really like during a heated seven-game playoff series last April. Now he’s their boss, and in direct control of their playing time.
“When they announced that it was going to be Pete, we were all kind of like, ‘Woah!’” defenseman Nick Holden said. “Obviously in the end he’s a well-respected coach around the league and he’s done really good things in his coaching career, so he has respect and that’s what we’re going to give him when he comes in here.”
Max Pacioretty has been through something similar while he was in Montreal.
The Canadiens had a heated rivalry with the Boston Bruins, which were coached at the time by Claude Julien. When the Bruins let Julien go in February of 2017, few would have expected him to soon helm Montreal. And yet there he was, announced as the Canadiens coach one week later.
“Literally the exact same situation, so I’m used to it at this point,” Pacioretty said. “This is our job and we’ve got to be professional no matter what, and at the end of the day, it’s a business and I’m sure it’s going to work out just fine.”
Some players are going to take it harder than others. Reaves was crestfallen on Thursday, and said how much he respected Gallant for giving him a chance to succeed. Under Gallant, Reaves played nearly two minutes more on average per night than he did anywhere else in his career, had power-play time and career-highs in goals and points.
“He was a guy that helped my game in the last three years and trusted me to play a bigger role than I’ve ever played in my career,” Reaves said. “I owe him a lot for sure. It’s tough to see him go. Yesterday was definitely tough. It’s a business. You lose friends, you lose coaches, you lose teammates all the time. You’ve got to start new.”
Some players are going to get more ice time and flourish in the new systems, but that may come at the expense of others. DeBoer needs time to implement what he wants to do, so don’t expect anything drastic in the first game at least.
But things are going to be different. That much was clear the second DeBoer walked in wearing gray Golden Knights warmups and a black hat with a knight’s emblem on it. It may be odd for awhile but DeBoer was brought into win hockey games, and if he does that, no one will remember him as the Sharks' guy. Just a Golden Knight.
“If you can walk into a dressing room with good people, character people, you can find your way through the turbulent waters,” DeBoer said. “I think that’s probably the case here. We got a real good group of men that care, and we’ll find our way through it.”
