Gerard Gallant found himself in a pool of irony Wednesday morning.
In a shocking sequence of events, Gallant was replaced on the Vegas Golden Knights' bench by the man he called a "clown" less than nine months ago.
That man is none other than former Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer. The Golden Knights fired Gallant as their coach Wednesday and hired DeBoer for the same position.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Prior to the Sharks and Golden Knights squaring off last season in Game 7 in the first-round Stanley Cup playoffs series, Gallant forcefully denied that he talked trash to Sharks forward Logan Couture.
"I really don't want to talk about that," Gallant said at the time when a reporter asked about the Sharks' accusations, "but I think I'm going to have to a little bit because for that clown [DeBoer] to say that in the paper yesterday, it's not right."
That "clown" now has his old job.
DeBoer was fired by the Sharks on Dec. 12 after a 15-16-2 start to the 2019-20 season. Players were shocked and stunned by the move after DeBoer led San Jose to the playoffs every season since taking over before the 2015-16 campaign.
San Jose Sharks
Find the latest San Jose Sharks news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
[RELATED: Couture describes challenging first year as Sharks captain]
The Golden Knights currently are 24-19-6 and in a virtual tie with the Winnipeg Jets for the second wild-card spot. DeBoer is going from one side of the rivalry to the other.
Gallant is watching from his couch.