Dear Red Wings fans: Cheer for the guy who bled for Hockeytown

Phoebe Wall Howard | Detroit Free Press

There is no debate, no discussion, no question.

You cheer for the guy who bled for The D.

No real Hockeytown fan has a choice.

You cheer for the guy who sat out six weeks with his jaw wired shut. And came back with a vengeance.

You cheer for the guy who made Detroit Red Wings headlines for both scoring and penalties, before back pain forced him to retire at 32.

You cheer for the guy who, two years ago, was fired so abruptly by the Florida Panthers that video of his leaving the head office went viral, only adding to the humiliation.

You cheer for the guy who, at age 54, looks 70.

He is scarred and gritty and battle worn. He is our man.

Gerard Gallant is a head coach leading a shiny new team from a town known for hookers and blow, not pro sports. He put together an island of misfit toys in the desert and directed it at the Stanley Cup. Some of them were little-known or injured or traded athletes who ignored ridicule and stayed focused.

More: Why ex-Red Wing Gerard Gallant was right coach for Vegas Golden Knights

Then they beat 500-1 odds and made the finals.

Bookies admit now they made a bad call.

All my money is on the Vegas Golden Knights.

Not because I think they’ll win (they trail the Washington Capitals, 3-1, in the best-of-seven series). Because I want them to win.

During these Stanley Cup finals, the Golden Knights represent my hometown. I live next to Joe Louis Arena, where Gerard Gallant played. I grew up going to games in the now-vacant arena. I see skateboarders on steps slated for demolition, not crowds.

Hollywood couldn’t write this script.

Gerard Gallant did.

At 5-foot-10-inches tall, no one would cast him in the lead.

But this is his show.

His men are playing rough. They are playing fast. They are ripped with injuries. They hit hard and they take hard hits. This is an expansion team that steps into 103 degree temps after hockey practice, temps that cause ink pens to boil and explode if left in the car.

More: Vegas Golden Knights: How these long shots reached Stanley Cup finals

This coach’s name ~ Gallant ~ is literally synonymous with brave, courageous, bold, daring and fearless.

Yet he told Sports Illustrated, “When you get fired, it hurts your confidence.”

The guy responsible for this insane resurrection is George McPhee, a former New York Ranger who now works as the general manager of the Vegas Golden Knights.

Irony? McPhee was fired by the Washington Capitals in 2014.

“What I liked about Gerard as a player is he wasn’t the most talented guy, but he persevered and played the game hard. Perseverance is a great substitute for talent,” McPhee told a Canadian reporter writing for the National Post in January 2018. “We were all rejected in one way or another. A lot of us in the organization have been fired, and we’ve all come together and got a second chance.”

Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill, who played with Gallant in Detroit, told the Post, “You want to go to war for him.”

As a fan, you can see it today. It’s all about faith.

“He has the players’ trust because if you have the uniform on for the game, then you get to play. He plays everyone. And he gives players a second, a third, and a fourth chance and realizes his players are going to make mistakes and you don’t park them for it – you keep playing them,” McPhee told the Post.

It’s all about perspective. And Gallant, who grew up in a family of 11 children in a two-bedroom house, knows what it means to struggle and not give up. The Prince Edward Island Hall of Fame site notes that he spent time as a kid sweeping the stands at the local ice rink to get ice time. Then he went on to a career that included 207 goals and 1,600 penalty minutes in 563 games with Detroit.

This is why we love Gerard Gallant. This is why we love the Vegas Golden Knights.

Detroit believes it can beat the odds. And so does Gerard Gallant.

Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: phoward@freepress.com or 313-222-6512. Follow her on Twitter @phoebesaid