from Pierre LeBrun of ESPN,

The response I got to Gallant's firing from team executives and coaches around the league was a universal shaking of the head. A coach who was nominated for the Jack Adams Award last season is gone just 22 games into the 2016-17 campaign -- while his team is over .500 and has battled key injuries since the get-go.

The fact that photos surfaced of Gallant having to hail his own cab in Raleigh, N.C., after being told he was fired -- well, that just adds to the level of outrage for many.

I suspect that Gallant knew from the moment former GM Dale Tallon was "promoted'' to president of hockey operations last spring that he was on the clock. Gallant had been Tallon's coach. And now Tallon had been punted from the day-to-day hockey decision-making.

You can't fire a coach right after he's been nominated for coach of the year, can you? But the Panthers canned Gallant. For no justifiable reason.

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