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Vegas Golden Knights

WATCH: Ryan Reaves and Gerard Gallant Return to T-Mobile Arena

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The Vegas Golden Knights welcomed back two key members of their organization on Thursday. The first head coach in franchise history Gerard Gallant and fan-favorite Ryan Reaves returned to T-Mobile Arena both came to town as the New York Rangers took on the Golden Knights. Both Gallant and Reaves were honored with video tributes. Gallant received his prior to puck drop.

Reaves then received his during the first TV timeout.

Gallant was hired by original Golden Knights general manager George McPhee to serve as the team’s first head coach in franchise history. Gallant had a tremendous amount of success in his three seasons with the Golden Knights. He had an all-time record of 118-75-20 (.601 winning percentage). He was a major part of the Golden Knights run all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2018 and won the Jack Adams trophy as the NHL’s top coach that season as well.

Gallant was fired in January of 2020 and replaced by current Golden Knights head coach Peter DeBoer. Gallant was then hired by the New York Rangers in June of 2021 and has since found success with the team as they sit atop the Metropolitan Division standings with 48 points.

Reaves was acquired by the Golden Knights in a three-way trade with the Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins. He spent three seasons with the Golden Knights and tallied 158 penalty minutes in 209 games with the team. His offensive numbers were nothing special as he only scored 18 goals 24 assists and 42 points in three seasons, but when he scored his goals were impactful such as his series-clinching goal against the Winnipeg Jets in 2018. Reaves dropped the gloves a total of ten times as a member of the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Golden Knights have had quite an eventful week in terms of welcoming back former members of the organization. On Sunday both Nate Schmidt and Paul Stastny returned to T-Mobile Arena. But perhaps the biggest ovation of them all will come Saturday night when Marc-Andre Fleury and the Chicago Blackhawks come to town.