Is Lemaire sequel on horizon?

July 11, 2009   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

Have the Devils finally decided on their next coach? According to Program buddy Chris Wassel, it could be a familiar face returning to New Jersey.

Is Jacques Lemaire II on the horizon? The veteran last coached the club in 1997-98, guiding them to a first place finish with 107 points before suffering a crushing first round upset loss to upstart Ottawa. The gut wrenching defeat concluded a series of disappointments following winning the franchise’s first Stanley Cup by sweeping a strong Detroit club in 1994-95. After leading them to Lord Stanley, he also was behind the bench when the Devils were unable to defend their crown. Then followed a bitter second round loss to the Hudson rival Rangers and the final disappointment which led Lemaire to resign.

Despite the way it ended, he had a tremendous run turning the Devils into a winner. Hired by Lou Lamoriello prior to 1993-94, Lemaire immediately made them one of the premier franchises guiding them to a 47-25-12 record for 106 points- finishing second to the Rangers in the Atlantic. They edged Buffalo in a seven-game first round epic with Martin Brodeur besting Dominik Hasek. Then cameback to beat Boston advancing to the Eastern Conference Final against the Rangers. It was a series for the ages with the Devils pushing the Blueshirts to the limit. Ultimately, they couldn’t finish them off falling in seven hard fought games with Stephane Matteau playing the hero. After the season, Lemaire won the Jack Adams as the league’s top coach.

Still, it sent a message that the Devils would be heard from. Not surprisingly, the Lemaire coached club won the Cup during an abbreviated 1994-95 season. Following an unsteady regular season that saw them finish second in the division with 52 points, they caught fire ousting the higher seeded Bruins and Pens in five to advance to a second consecutive Conference Final. This time, it would be against I-95 bitter foe Philadelphia. The road team won the first four games setting up a crucial Game 5 at The Spectrum. Claude Lemieux scored the winner, beating Ron Hextall from a bad angle. The Devils wrapped up the series in six to make their first Stanley Cup Final.

As the East’s No.5 seed, they’d already beaten three higher seeds. Not many experts gave them a chance against the heavily favored Red Wings. Despite that, I never bought in due to the Devils’ prior experience which was completely overlooked. They were the team that suffered a heartbreaking loss deep into the 1994 postseason. So, it wasn’t a total shock that they used that as added incentive to sweep Detroit, outscoring them 16-7 for the club’s first championship. Lemieux won the Conn Smythe as the Devils made history by winning the most road games (11) en route to the hardware.

Amazingly, the franchise nearly relocated to Nashville. Thankfully, it didn’t happen keeping New Jersey’s team where they belonged.

Though it was all downhill for Lemaire, he still had excellent success. In five seasons, he finished with a 199-122-57 record as Devil coach with a Cup, Conference Final appearance and two Atlantic titles.

A couple of years later, he resurfaced with the expansion Wild coaching them the first eight seasons. That included three postseasons with the highlight a surprising run to the Conference Finals in 2002-03 before losing in four straight to the Jean-Sebastien Giguere-led Mighty Ducks. After two consecutive first round defeats, Lemaire’s club narrowly missed the playoffs finishing ninth in the West with 89 points causing him to step down.

It had been rumored that he didn’t see eye to eye with superstar Marian Gaborik. Lemaire felt it was time for the Wild to move forward with his defensive-minded style wearing thin. Ironically, it didn’t save the club from losing their best player who bolted for the bright lights and plenty of green on Broadway. Eventually, they replaced him with Martin Havlat.

Since Benedict Arnold Brent Sutter left the Devils for Calgary, Lemaire’s name has continued to surface as a possible replacement. In a 16-year coaching career, the Hall of Famer has posted a 540-414-124-53 record with Montreal, New Jersey and Minnesota. Does he make one more stop where he had his most success?

The answer could be provided soon.