The New Jersey Devils are taking a proactive approach while the NHL remains on hiatus.
Devils interim general manager Tom Fitzgerald has spoken with former Vegas Golden Knights bench boss Gerard Gallant about New Jersey's head coaching position, TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported on Tuesday's edition of "Insider Trading."
"Gerard Gallant, according to our sources, (was) interviewed last week," LeBrun said, before adding that the conversation with Fitzgerald took place virtually rather than face to face.
Fitzgerald has spoken to several candidates, according to LeBrun, who wrote shortly thereafter on The Athletic that Devils interim head coach Alain Nasreddine is a legitimate candidate to keep the job.
The Golden Knights fired Gallant, replacing him with Peter DeBoer in a surprise move back in January. Vegas was 24-19-6 at the time, and the team sat only three points back of first place in the Pacific Division despite being on the outside of the playoff picture.
Gallant won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's top head coach for 2017-18 after guiding the Golden Knights to a playoff berth and a run to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season. He spent parts of three campaigns with Vegas after tenures of similar lengths with the Florida Panthers and Columbus Blue Jackets.
Nasreddine took over behind the Devils' bench on an interim basis after the dismissal of John Hynes in early December. Under Nasreddine, the Devils have gone 19-16-8.
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