This is going to be an interesting story as it plays out. In fact it will be more exciting that the Devils on ice play, next season. It’s almost like Lemaire is trying to remake himself, see I can coach an offensive team. As a Wild fan, we all know that Jacques Lemaire can coach a NHL team to play stifling air tight defense (some call it boring). It has also been said that Jacques Lemaire teams lack offensive imagination and the Devils and Wild games were nothing more than a trap feast that weren’t very exciting to watch. The proof backing up that argument is probably the Wild’s play the last two seasons and the Devils first run to the Stanley Cup Championship in 1994-1995. In my 20+ years of watching the NHL the 1995 Stanley Cup finals in my opinion were the most boring NHL hockey that I have ever watched. I honestly don’t want to witness it again.
Now that he has the gig, what can be expected of Lemaire behind the Devils bench?
First of all, he wants to coach beyond one season. He made that clear today, and barring a Lamoriellian hasty coaching decision, one imagines Lemaire will be given that opportunity.
He also steadfastly rejected the notion that his arrival portends a statistic decline for Devils star Zach Parise(notes), who is one of the best offensive standouts the organization has ever produced.
"I don't know what I'm going to put in [as a coach] that would stop any of the players from performing at their best," said Lemaire.
For those wondering how that philosophy jibes with Lemaire's system stifling a player like Marian Gaborik(notes) with the Wild, know this: He believes Parise and other Devils on this team to be outstanding two-way players. So overstressing defense, smothering an offensive game for the sake of the system ... it's not something Lemaire sees happening with Parise.
(A former Devils player told me the same thing at the Draft, claiming that Parise's numbers could actually improve with Lemaire behind the pine.)
One area where Lemaire could help the team is on the blue line, where assistant coach Mario Tremblay joins the Devils as the man in charge of the defense on the bench. They got the most out of Wild defenseman who might be considered journeymen on other teams; the Devils defense isn't the star-studded collection Lemaire had during his first stint, but it's a solid enough group that could be even better than what Sutter squeezed out of them.
Lemaire is back in New Jersey because he still has the itch and wants to win another ring:
"You want to have a chance to win the Cup. In my situation, this would be a great thing, to have a chance."
One gets the same vibe from Lamoriello in bringing back Lemaire, bringing back Brian Rolston(notes), bringing back Brendan Shanahan(notes) and the others. Time's running short for all of these veterans who have dedicated themselves to The Game and to the franchise. When Marty Brodeur is 37 and the next name on the potential starting goalie chart is Jeff Frazee(notes), there's a win-now vibe in place.
[Puck Daddy]
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