That’s a clown accusation, bro.
Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant channeled Las Vegas native Bryce Harper while calling out San Jose counterpart Peter DeBoer ahead of Tuesday’s Game 7 of their chippy first-round playoff series.
DeBoer had charged Monday that Gallant has been yelling at opposing Sharks players from the bench during games earlier in the series.
“For that clown to say that in the paper yesterday, it’s not right,” said Gallant, who denied any trash talk with the Sharks. “If I’m going to be a chirper and a loudmouth, I think people know me as a coach and respect me as a coach.
“If he’s going to yap about that, that’s a little unclassy for me.”
DeBoer, the former Devils coach, had contended Monday that Gallant has initiated contact with Sharks players throughout the series.
“There’s still chatter. Their coach is chattering. He’s probably doing the most chattering,” DeBoer said. “He’s talking to our players constantly during the game, which I haven’t seen before.
“That’s probably where most of the chatter’s coming from now. The players are playing.”
Gallant added that DeBeor likely misheard him yelling at the officials, not the Sharks.
“(San Jose forward) Logan Couture, I thought it was an embellishment (on a penalty), so I’m yelling at the referee, not at Logan Couture,” Gallant said. “The other one, Game 2, (Sharks forward) Evander Kane’s yelling at Ryan Reaves between the bench, and Evander yells at me and says, ‘Hey coach, when are you going to send your big guy on the ice and play him, what, four minutes?’ I said, ‘He’s played 10 minutes every game and he’s going to play a lot more.’ (Those) are the two times.”