Former Rangers coach Gerard Gallant takes surprising KHL job with Shanghai Dragons

Former New York Rangers' bench boss Gerard Gallant is back coaching hockey, and for someone with his track record of success the destination isn't one you'd initially expect.

Today "The Master" was formally announced as the new leader of the Shanghai Dragons of the KHL.

Gallant was hyped up by the Dragons in their official announcement video, and the veteran coach also addressed the fans in a subtitled video.

Although the team name is the Shanghai Dragons, the Rangers' former "buddy" won't be getting ready to learn Chinese anytime soon, as they will be playing home games in Russia at the SKA Arena in St. Petersburg. They recently rebranded and were previously known as Kunlun Red Star.

In Year 1 of Gallant's tenure in New York, the Rangers went 52-24-6 and finished with 110 points in the regular season before losing in the Eastern Conference Final against Tampa. In year 2 the Blueshirts went 47-22-13 and finished with 107 points, but a loss in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against New Jersey led to an end of his time on Broadway

In many ways Gallant was like a new age Mike Keenan, without the Stanley Cup, and he led the Rangers to a lot of early success but flamed out in spectacular fashion. The team ultimately was eliminated in back to back seasons after initially going up 2-0 in a series with a chance to take a commanding 3-0 lead.

Now Gallant faces a new challenge in the KHL, and one can only wonder if this could be his attempt of earning another chance in the NHL. In 705 games he has a record of 369-262-4-70, and a winning percentage of .576 in the regular season in addition to a 31-29 record (.517 winning percentage) in the playoffs.

Gallant's claim to fame thus far remains leading the expansion Vegas Golden Knights to a Western Conference title in their inaugural season, and if his time with Shanghai goes well, maybe we will see him back in the NHL a year or two from now.