DEVILS HIRE LEMAIRE FOR SECOND TENURE AS HEAD COACH

The New Jersey Devils felt no need to get creative with their search for a new head coach following the resignation of Brent Sutter.  Five weeks after Sutter resigned to take the head coaching job with the Calgary Flames, the Devils on Monday introduced Jacques Lemaire as their new head coach.   Lemaire himself had resigned as the coach of the Minnesota Wild, suggesting that he’d taken the team ‘as far as he could’.  Apparently, he was anxious for a new challenge as reports suggest it was he that approached the Devils about their vacant coaching gig.

In some ways, it makes perfect sense—Lemaire and GM Lou Lamoriello were the architects of the Devils’ tenacious, tough checking defensive style that helped the team go from doormats to Stanley Cup champions in 1995.  The Devils won two more Stanley Cups in the early part of this decade, but haven’t come close since.  They were eliminated in the opening round during the past two seasons, this year thanks to a mind boggling late comeback in game 7 against the Carolina Hurricanes.

With Lemaire’s proven track record as a coach, and particularly behind the Devils’ bench, Lamoriello didn’t have to put much of a spin on the hiring in his comments to the media:

"Jacques Lemaire is one of the most respected coaches in the game. He is a teacher and a communicator, and knows what it takes to have success."

Lemaire was much more verbose with his statements to the media, suggesting that he sees a lot of potential in the current New Jersey roster:

"You look at the team last year, they were solid defensively, and offensively. That's the goal I want to have ... and to do as well as we can in the playoffs. "When you've been coaching for 15 years, when you look at a team, you want to have a chance to win the Cup, there is no doubt about that. Especially in my situation, this would be a great thing to have a chance. Don't forget there are 30 teams saying the same thing. I want a chance to be part of this and if there is a chance I would love to get another one."

After resigning from Minnesota, Lemaire quickly learned that his desire to coach hockey had not waned:

"Last year, right after the season, I never did close the door on coaching. I just said that my time in Minnesota is over and it's time to go on and do something else. "I've heard a lot of ex-coaches say often that it is really hard to get out of this because we love the game and it is exciting and it's fun. Well, that's what I got watching the playoffs."

Lemaire has won a total of eleven Stanley Cup championships—eight as a player with the Montreal Canadiens and three as a coach with New Jersey.  His eight Cup wins in a twelve year career as a player is a remarkable accomplishment, and earned him induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.