The Devils are hoping to recapture their Stanley Cup glory by bringing back the head coach that guided them to their first championship.
Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello finally ended the suspense this afternoon when he announced during a conference call that he has hired Jacques Lemaire to succeed Brent Sutter as the team's head coach.
""This is something that came about over a period of time and came to a conclusion over the weekend," Lamoriello said. "I couldn't be more excited that Jacques will be taking over the reins of our team."
This will be Lemaire's second stint as the Devils head coach. He coached them from 1993-94 to 1997-98 and guided them to their first Stanley Cup in 1995. Lemaire, who will turn 64 on Sept. 7, compiled a record of 199-122-57 in 378 regular season games with the Devils over five seasons. He won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's coach of the year in 1994.
Lemaire coached the Wild for the last nine years before stepping down following the 2008-09 season.
Mario Tremblay will also be joining the Devils' staff as an assistant coach. Tremblay served in the same role under Lemaire in Minnesota. Tommy Albelin and Jacques Caron will also stay on as assistant coaches.
Former Devils assistant John MacLean will take over as the head coach in Lowell and be assisted there by Chris Terreri and Kevin Dean. Lamoriello said Scott Stevens will also be taking a more active role in assisting the coaches in New Jersey and Lowell.
Lamoriello said that Caron and Terreri will be switching back and forth between New Jersey and Lowell.
Sutter resigned as head coach of the Devils on June 9 and was hired two weeks later to be the head coach of the Calgary Flames.
Victory is mine!
Posted by: Major Cornholio | July 13, 2009 at 01:32 PM
welcome back
Posted by: JimboJones | July 13, 2009 at 01:33 PM
Its official
Posted by: tyler | July 13, 2009 at 01:33 PM
Boo. Enough with the returning players/coaches from the 90s. We need to move forward... this is a different team.
Posted by: Rick H | July 13, 2009 at 01:33 PM
Shocking.
Posted by: Jason | July 13, 2009 at 01:33 PM
In Lou We Trust.
Posted by: JPOLL | July 13, 2009 at 01:33 PM
hmm...surprise pick.
Posted by: Eric | July 13, 2009 at 01:34 PM
I am very pleased. Devils Hockey Is Back!
Posted by: Matt M. | July 13, 2009 at 01:34 PM
Welcome back Jacques!
Posted by: Tom | July 13, 2009 at 01:34 PM
yes!
Posted by: HF | July 13, 2009 at 01:34 PM
Works for me. Good return.
Posted by: Strac | July 13, 2009 at 01:34 PM
BOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Posted by: Dennis | July 13, 2009 at 01:34 PM
Welcome Back Jacques
Posted by: Steven | July 13, 2009 at 01:34 PM
What a shocker!!
Posted by: .B.C. | July 13, 2009 at 01:34 PM
This must be a way to give Johnny Mac time Head Coaching.
Posted by: Matt | July 13, 2009 at 01:34 PM
lets win a cup
Posted by: Faulksy | July 13, 2009 at 01:34 PM
Glad it's finally done! Now let's re-sign Shanny, settle up with Zajac and move on..
Posted by: Shanafan | July 13, 2009 at 01:35 PM
finally... But I lost the 25-1 bet for a big name free agent.. i had $20 on it. 25-1?? C'mon, I had to try
Posted by: RickyM2 | July 13, 2009 at 01:35 PM
meh
Posted by: Martysbetter86 | July 13, 2009 at 01:35 PM
I think this is a good move for the Devils, if you are going to have a youth movement of sorts...this is the guy you want behind the bench to guide it. He set the blueprint of success in new jersey, and I am not sure that we will see the "Trap style" back in NJ, Lemaire has always said he adapts his system to his players, and this is a team with a lot of offensive talent.
Posted by: Jim B | July 13, 2009 at 01:35 PM
Looks like Johnny Mac is getting some head coaching experience. $10 says the next time the Devils need a new coach, JM will get the nod.
Welcome back, Jacques! Bring us another cup!
Posted by: Rob | July 13, 2009 at 01:35 PM
Bravooooooooooooo Gen Lou!!! He gets the best coach out there. We are in the playoffs and will never have a 80 second meltdown again. Great news. Now make my day and tell me Mclean was let go.
Posted by: nnjrules | July 13, 2009 at 01:35 PM
Cool. Let the BORING HOCKEY BEGIN!
Does that mean Larry Robinson got fired?
and Johnny Mac in Lowell...don't like it. This guy's good, but hopefully he'll be the headcoach once he's back
Posted by: Put it THIS way | July 13, 2009 at 01:36 PM
What about Albelin?
Posted by: Jason | July 13, 2009 at 01:36 PM
oh brother. i guess we'll see how it goes. I was enjoying the Sutter style of not being too offensive and not trapping too much. I really hope this works out well for us. REALLLLLy hope so.
Posted by: modnarm | July 13, 2009 at 01:36 PM