Gerard Gallant is returning to hockey.

The Golden Knights’ first coach has been named the coach of the Shanghai Dragons in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League in Russia, the Dragons announced Wednesday.

Gallant was announced as Shanghai’s coach in an AI-produced video that portrayed Gallant as Raiden, the legendary protagonist from the Mortal Kombat video game franchise.

THE MASTER IS HERE pic.twitter.com/0hAK9XYzuU

— Shanghai Dragons (@shadragons) August 13, 2025

The native of Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada, signed a two-year contract.

Gallant’s longtime assistant coach, Mike Kelly, is joining his staff.

The Dragons are the KHL’s lone Chinese-based franchise, but play in SKA Arena in St. Petersburg, Russia. The team rebranded Thursday after spending its first nine seasons as HC Kunlun Red Star.

Gallant has a tall task in his new role. The Dragons have gone eight straight seasons missing the playoffs.

But the 61-year-old has a track record of getting teams to perform well from the outset.

Gallant was hired by the Knights on April 13, 2017, and led the team in its improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final in its inaugural season before losing in five games to the Washington Capitals.

He won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year after leading the Knights to 51 wins in their first season.

The Knights made the playoffs the next season, but couldn’t hold a 3-1 series lead in the first round to the San Jose Sharks before losing in seven games.

Gallant was fired Jan. 15, 2020, and replaced by former Sharks coach Pete DeBoer.

Gallant was hired by the New York Rangers on June 16, 2021, to replace David Quinn.

The Rangers advanced to the Eastern Conference Final in Gallant’s first season and took a 2-0 lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning before losing the next four games.

New York lost in seven games to the New Jersey Devils in the first round the following season, leading to Gallant being fired and replaced by Peter Laviolette.

Gallant had been out of coaching since 2023. He won 369 games in his 11-year coaching career with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers, Knights and Rangers and made the playoffs five times.

Gallant played 615 games in 11 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning and was a four-time 30-goal scorer.

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.