The aftermath of the shake-up in New Jersey is underway.
President/GM Lou Lamoriello announces he will go behind bench with Adam Oates handling forwards and Scott Stevens handling defense.
— New Jersey Devils (@NHLDevils) December 27, 2014
A day after head coach Peter DeBoer was fired after three seasons compiling a 114-93-41 record, the announced trio brings about a peculiar situation.
Adam Oates, recently a victim of the house cleaning that occurred in Washington, is reported to be handling the responsibility of forwards. Oates brings in a coaching pedigree that saw him serve as an assistant for three years in Tampa Bay and interestingly enough, New Jersey before eventually getting an opportunity in Washington for the lockout-shortened 2013 season. He lasted just two years, with a first place division finish in the shortened season and failure to make it into the playoffs the next.
Oates’s head coaching record stands at 65-48-17. During his time as an assistant in New Jersey Lamoriello praised the coaching style Oates brought to his team.
“He did an outstanding job for us. I wish him well. He’s very communicative, very intelligent, he explains things very well. He has the resume behind him as a player and having the success he had – all the credentials are there for having the kind of respect players have for him.”
-New Jersey Devils General Manager Lou Lamoriello (ESPN)
Longtime Devils defenseman Scott Stevens also has some coaching experience, serving as an assistant with the Devils from 2012-2014, stepping down in September of this year.
How things can change in just a few months.
Known for his bone-crushing hits on the ice when he played the position, Stevens will be handling the defense.
Oates: We need to improve in all areas and we’re going to try to do that. Stevens: We want to get better, that’s the bottom line.
— New Jersey Devils (@NHLDevils) December 27, 2014
It will certainly be a transitional period at the Rock, and it is just one of 15 that have occurred in the past 13 seasons. That’s how many coaching changes the Devils have had under Lamoriello, who will be the centerpiece of the coaching trio. Lamoriello has previous coaching experience with the team he currently manages, both on an interim basis. In 2005-06 after Larry Robinson resigned, Lamoriello in 50 games went 32-14-4 the rest of the way en route to a first place finish in the Atlantic division, bowing out in the second round.
In 2006-07, Claude Julien, named head coach by Lamoriello following his 50-game stint, was fired with three games left in the regular season. Lamoriello took over to coach the team through the final three games and playoffs. The Devils finished first in the Atlantic for the second year in a row, and finished one game from 50 wins before bowing out in the second round yet again.
Now, 36 games into the 2014-15 season, Lamoriello will be taking over again, this time, with a less-talented team that is full of veterans such as Scott Gomez and Jaromir Jagr. With Stevens and Oates at his side, only time will tell if the coaching trio will succeed, or even last for that matter.
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Records and bios courtesy of ESPN and Hockey Reference, Coaching change history courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau and ESPN, Twitter quotes courtesy of @NewJerseyDevils
