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Poll: Do You Want Lemaire as the Devils Coach?

The big rumor being pushed for the Devils head coaching position is Jacques Lemaire. Here's a quick overview of Lemaire's coaching career. Lemaire coached the Devils from the 1993-94 season through 1997-98 season, finishing with a record of 199-122-57. He (in)famously instituted the neutral zone trap and after an Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 1994 and a Stanley Cup win in 1995, the rest of the NHL caught wind of the defensive tactic. While Lemaire achieved regular season success with the Devils, two quick exits from the playoffs led to his replacement in 1998.

Lemaire returned to the NHL coaching the expansion Minnesota Wild, still favoring defensive hockey throughout his tenure. He stepped down after this past season, where the Wild missed the playoffs after two consecutive seasons of making it in the postseason. Hockey Wilderness was all over this: Buddhafisch has details about when he actually stepped down in April with some interesting quotes. Nathan Eide has a link to a retrospective and his last press conference.

According to Gulitti, Lemaire is interested in the New Jersey job; though he also rumored to be taking a consulting job with the Canadiens. Given what Lemaire has done, he's definitely a defense-first coach and would probably undo a lot of what Sutter had done in the last two seasons. On the other hand, Lemaire never coached a team where he had a ridiculous talent like Zach Parise, Travis Zajac working well with said ridiculous talent, and Patrik Elias putting up a point per game season. Maybe he would do things differently. I say for now, I leave the opinion to you.

Remember, I'm not asking whether or not he would be good for New Jersey; but rather do you want him to coach the Devils in 2009-10. If you would like to explain why you do or do not want him to coach the Devils, please state your reasons in the comments.


UPDATE: Good response so far and I would like to commend you all for not wanting to see Todd Richards. Because according to Mike Russo at the Star Tribune, he will be coaching the Wild next season. (via Hockey Wilderness) Also from Mike Russo, Lemaire is working on a basement closet. Best of luck to him in his endeavor for more storage space.