Report: Golden Knights accelerate coaching search

Bet on the Golden Knights hiring a bench boss before season's end.

The Vegas club, which will join the NHL next season as the newest expansion team, originally planned to hire its first coach in the late spring, but that date has been moved up, reports Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

According to Carp, the Golden Knights could be interested in Gerard Gallant, who was fired earlier this season by the Florida Panthers.

However, Vegas could have competition for Gallant, with the New York Islanders also looking for a new coach following the firing of Jack Capuano. Gallant previously served as an assistant with the Islanders from 2007-09.