- published: 26 Oct 2014
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Gerard Gallant (born September 2, 1963) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former NHL player. He is the head coach for the Florida Panthers and a former assistant coach to the Montreal Canadiens.
Gallant was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft, sixth round, one-hundred seventh overall.
He scored 211 goals in 615 games as a leftwinger for the Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning. He also scored 18 playoff goals.
Despite his smaller stature (5 ft 10 in, 180 lbs), Gallant was known as a power forward during his time with the Red Wings. He was a team leader, and served as an alternate captain alongside Bob Probert, Rick Zombo, or Steve Chiasson. During the late 1980s, Gallant was a fixture on the Red Wings top line alongside Steve Yzerman.
Gallant was named to the NHL All Star Second Team for the 1988–89 NHL season.
He was the head coach of the National Hockey League's Columbus Blue Jackets before being fired on November 13, 2006.
Gallant was an assistant coach for the New York Islanders during the 2007–08 season.
Martin James McSorley (born May 18, 1963) is a retired Canadian professional hockey player, who played in the National Hockey League from 1983 until 2000. A versatile player, he was able to play both the forward and defense positions.
A former head coach of the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League (2002–04), aside from his hockey career, McSorley has worked as an actor, appearing in several film and television roles. McSorley was a valued teammate of Wayne Gretzky during their years playing together for the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings, where he served as an enforcer. In 2000, his on-ice assault of Donald Brashear with his stick, in which Brashear suffered a severe concussion, led to McSorley's suspension and eventual retirement from the NHL.
McSorley was born in Hamilton, Ontario, but grew up near Cayuga, Haldimand County, Ontario. He made his NHL debut in October 1983 with the Pittsburgh Penguins, but rose to fame after a trade in September 1985 brought him to the Edmonton Oilers. His arrival and physical presence soon made Edmonton's incumbent enforcer Dave Semenko expendable, and McSorley inherited the title of "Wayne Gretzky's bodyguard".