Gerard Gallant, former Florida Panthers head coach, gets into a cab after being relieved of his duties following an NHL hockey game against the Carolina Hurricanes , Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)

Gerard Gallant hasn’t said much after the Florida Panthers fired him and didn’t even call an Uber on Nov. 27.

Since then, there’s been plenty of speculation, as well as some clarity, after general manager Tom Rowe took over as head coach. But Gallant finally went on the record with Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com to explain that despite claims that his old-school mentality didn’t jibe with the team’s new-school analytics approach, that’s not what got him canned.

From ESPN.com:

“No, it wasn’t huge about analytics,” Gallant said. “For me, analytics is certainly part of coaching, but it’s not the whole thing. In my mind, if I take a job, analytics is part of it for sure, 25 to 30 percent, whatever percentage you want to put on it. It’s definitely a tool. If you get the right information, you’re happy with that. Every coach uses analytics. We all go over the same stuff.

“I wasn’t fired because of analytics,” he continued.

“I loved coaching the Florida Panthers and I’m a stubborn guy at times; maybe I said a little too much, maybe I gave my opinion a little bit too much. Maybe when they asked for my opinion, I have an honest opinion and sometimes it doesn’t help you. Maybe it wasn’t always what they wanted to hear. I don’t know where it went from there …”

Well, it went directly to a personality conflict between a management group – that had gained significant power after Dale Tallon was kicked upstairs by the Panthers after last season – and a coach they didn’t hire.

It was a conflict that stretched back to last season, when the front office mandated some commonsense changes that Gallant initially bristled at, like breaking up a Willie Mitchell and Erik Gudbranson duo that wasn’t working, but eventually accepted. The Panthers went on their run, and there was harmony.

Then the Panthers made a bunch of offseason moves, especially on the blueline, that Gallant didn’t like, and suddenly the personnel was geared for one style of hockey and Gallant was coaching another.

The “stubborn guy” had a division championship banner to his credit, and maybe was a little more stubborn behind the scenes than he was in the previous season.

So, at their first chance this season, Tom Rowe and Co. turfed him.

(Read more from Botchford here, but we’ve since independently heard the same.)

Gallant tells LeBrun that he received a lot of support from around the hockey world, including assurances that it won’t be long until he gets another gig. Maybe Vegas gives him a look. Maybe another team that makes a change after the season. He’s a strong players’ guy, and he’s learned a lot in two NHL gigs. Especially the unpredictability when power and personnel dramatically change within an organization.

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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