Lemaire Retires From Coaching

New Jersey Devils head coach Jacques Lemaire is retiring from coaching after his team's first-round playoff elimination for the third straight year.

Lemaire surprised everyone Monday with the decision- four days after the Devils were taken out by Philadelphia in five games.

"It's tough to leave what you like, but it's a decision that I made. It's not the team. It is not the result or the lack of result we had in the playoffs," Lemaire said. "It's not that at all. It's the end of the line. I'll be 65. It's just time."

He also said that he just doesn't have the energy to coach anymore, but he will stay with the Devils in some capacity. The team hasn't figured out what that role wil be just yet...

Here's Devils GM Lou Lamoriello at the time of Lemaire's re-hiring...
((HT: MSG))

Lemaire Heads Back To Jersey

((HT: CBSSports))

Jacques Lemaire ((pictured, thanks nj.com)) is returning for a second stint as coach of the New Jersey Devils.

Lemaire, who coached the Devils for five seasons in the mid 1990s and led them to the first of three Stanley Cups, was hired Monday to replace Brent Sutter, who resigned after two seasons.

Contract terms were not disclosed but the 63-year-old Lemaire said he intends to coach at least two seasons.

"I never thought I would be back," Lemaire said. "I said at that time when I was leaving after five years, and it was five great years, I wanted to cherish this for the rest of my life and the rest of my career, but I never thought one day I would come back."

The deal reunites Lemaire with general manager and president Lou Lamoriello and goaltender Martin Brodeur, the combination that turned that Devils from a contender to a champion in 1995.

"Jacques Lemaire is one of the most respected coaches in the game," Lamoriello said during a conference call. "He is a teacher and a communicator, and knows what it takes to have success."

Lemaire recently resigned as coach of the Minnesota Wild. He took over the expansion franchise in 2000 and led them to the playoffs three times. However, the injury-plagued Wild struggled this past season and Lemaire stepped down, saying he had taken them as far as he could.

"Last year, right after the season, I never did close the door on coaching," Lemaire said. "I just said that my time in Minnesota is over and it's time to go on and do something else," Lemaire said.

Watching the playoffs convinced Lemaire that he still wanted to coach.

"I've heard a lot of ex-coaches say often that it is really hard to get out of this because we love the game and it is exciting and it's fun," Lemaire said. "Well, that's what I got watching the playoffs."

Lemaire first talked with Lamoriello about the vacant job before the NHL draft in mid June and the two hammered out an agreement this past weekend.

The Devils won the Atlantic Division title this past season, but they were stunned in the opening round of the playoffs by the Carolina Hurricanes, giving up two late goals in a Game 7 loss.

Lemaire has watched the Devils and he likes what he sees.

"When you've been coaching for 15 years, when you look at a team, you want to have a chance to win the Cup, there is no doubt about that," Lemaire said. "Especially in my situation, this would be a great thing to have a chance. Don't forget there are 30 teams saying the same thing. I want a chance to be part of this and if there is a chance I would love to get another one."

Lemaire has won 11 Stanley Cups as a player, coach and executive. He has a career coaching record of 538-415-176 in 14 seasons with Montreal, New Jersey and Minnesota.

Lamoriello also announced that Mario Tremblay, who spent the past nine seasons as an assistant coach in Minnesota with Lemaire, will join the Devils' coaching staff. The team also retained assistant coach Tommy Albelin and goaltending coach Jacques Caron. Former Devils great Scott Stevens will also take a more active coaching role both with the team and their AHL affiliate, Lamoriello said.

In giving the job to Lemaire, Lamoriello passed over assistant coach John MacLean again. He was the leading contender when Sutter got the job two years ago.

This time, MacLean was given the head coaching job at Lowell of the AHL. Kevin Dean will be his assistant coach and Chris Terreri will be the goaltending coach.

"There is no question as to John MacLean's knowledge of the game," said Lamoriello. "This is the next step in his bright coaching career."

Lemaire Leaves Wild... Montreal Next...?

Sid Hartman of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune caught up with Minnesota Wild GM Doug Risebrough after Jacques Lemaire announced he was resigning his post as Head Coach. Risebrough was surprised with Lemaire's decision and the way it came about.

The team is scheduled to have a Monday afternoon presser to formally announce the deal and discuss their future head coach and franchise direction...

It should not have been a surprise to see Jacques Lemaire step down as Wild coach. He did it before in Montreal after the 1984-85 season, and after the 1997-98 season at New Jersey, when he led the Devils to the Stanley Cup in 1994-95.

But Wild president Doug Risebrough said he was surprised in the way Lemaire quit, telling the Wild beat writers after a season-ending victory in Columbus that he wasn't coming back next season.

Risebrough expected that he and Lemaire would wait a couple of weeks, then have a meeting as they have done after other seasons.

"I did not know Jacques was going to quit; he did not say anything to me," Risebrough said. "I had a feeling that he had made up his mind, as he said [Saturday] with the media.

"... We had had no discussions about this. We didn't talk about it, because Jacques is all about the team ... and doing the right thing, and it wouldn't be the right thing to talk about this stuff before. But the fact that he said he had made up his mind started me to think that he knows the right time.

"I've always said this, Jacques is not only the brightest hockey mind I've ever worked with, he's maybe one of the smartest individuals. And I knew he would know when the right time was going to be. And, I've just got to say, I am so appreciative of Jacques staying as long as he did. I think it was the right thing."

Risebrough said he hadn't been looking ahead to who would replace Lemaire.

"But I can tell you, I've got a great, great perspective on what coaching is, [and who] the next coach should be, because of Jacques Lemaire."

Following Saturday night's 6-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-3, the only coach the Wild has ever known confirmed he won't be back.

"There comes a time when you know it's the right time to go," Lemaire told reporters. "And I know this. I had a great time here. I had eight great years."

"I think it's time for the players to get a new coach and myself to look for other stuff," Lemaire told the newspaper on Saturday following a 6-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. "I always said there'll be a time. There comes a time that you know it's the right time to go, and I know this."

"I don't know what I'm going to do. I want to stay in the game, but I don't know what I'm going to do."

When asked if he would remain with the Wild in another position, Lemaire said he did not believe that would happen.

Lemaire, a former player and coach with the Canadiens, was asked by the Star Tribune if he would be interested in coaching in Montreal again, he sidestepped the question.

"I won't start to mention any teams because I'm still under contract in a way," Lemaire told the newspaper. "But I'll be looking for a job. I don't know what type. But I'll be looking."
While Lemaire has a reputation of being one of the finest coaches in the National Hockey League, there have been rumblings of tension with players.

The team has reportedly been upset regarding road practices after traveling and lack of off days.

According to the Star Tribune the assistant coaches have been running most of the team's recent morning practice sessions and at one point last week a veteran player voiced his displeasure with the Lemaire in a team huddle.

Lemaire To Retire...? Talk Starts Again

((HT: CP))

Last summer, the Minnesota Wild talked Jacques Lemaire into returning as coach. This time, they might have to be more persuasive.

This has been a trying winter and spring for Lemaire ((pictured, thanks Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI-Getty)) and the Wild, who entered the final weekend of the regular season with a faint hope of reaching the playoffs but haven't put together a three-game winning streak since before U.S. Thanksgiving.

They've been hampered by injuries to important players, slow development of recent first-round draft picks, and persistent inconsistency that frustrates the discipline-driven coach like no other flaw.

Not only is the future of star forward Marian Gaborik in question with free agency looming in a few months, but the only bench boss this franchise has ever had is not guaranteed to be back for training camp next fall.

The 63-year-old Lemaire, in the Hall of Fame for his eight Stanley Cups won and 835 career points as a player with Montreal, has taken three teams to a total of nine playoff appearances plus one championship as a coach. The man, whose penchant for proper positioning on the ice helped spawn the frequently emulated neutral-zone trap, will assume his usual off-season routine.

He'll assess his feelings, his energy and his enthusiasm for the job in consultation with his family and Wild general manager Doug Risebrough, a former Canadiens teammate who hired the Quebec native to guide the club when it entered the league nine years ago.

A few weeks after Minnesota was eliminated in the first round of the NHL's post-season tournament last April, Risebrough flew to Florida to convince Lemaire he was still the coach who could best motivate and maximize the abilities on the roster. Until their talk, Lemaire wasn't so sure.

This year, Lemaire's resolve has been tested as much or more. Gaborik missed 65 games. Owen Nolan has missed 23. Defenceman Brent Burns and forward Pierre-Marc Bouchard have both been out down the stretch due to lingering post-concussion symptoms.

"It's been a little frustrating," the coach said. "Because of the injuries, we never had a full team. Maybe a couple of games and that's it. And when it happens to your key players, then it's hard to get the players having a good feel about the group."

Risebrough declined an interview request, preferring to wait until after the season.

"I haven't thought about it, honestly," Gaborik said, asked whether he has wondered if the only head coach he's had in the pros will retire. "I don't know what they're going to do, so it's out of my control. I'm just focusing right now on playing."

Though Lemaire is considered a strict, demanding coach, and some of his more-skilled players have balked at his insistence on a cautious style, he has a well-respected presence around the arena.

"With what he's done for this franchise, I think he's in position to have it be up to him" on whether he'll be back, forward Andrew Brunette said.

After some games, Lemaire has been beside himself with anger and frustration.

On other days, he's been upbeat: making quips about the sport, the team and life in general in that distinctively French Canadian accent of his, or with a mischievous smile cryptically offering guarded answers to questions he'd rather not entertain.

During one practice last month, when the oft-injured Gaborik had returned to the team after his rehabilitation was finally complete, Lemaire excitedly skated over to the glass near the assembled media with mock astonishment at Gaborik's presence on the ice and jokingly posed for cellphone pictures with his best player.

Even Gaborik had to grin.

Despite being four decades older than the majority of the guys on his roster, Lemaire has a knack for reaching his players.

"He's tough, but he's not mean," said centre James Sheppard, one of the youngsters who hasn't performed up to his potential this season. "I guess strict is a good word for it. He wants the young guys to learn, and once you learn you kind of can have some more freedom. He wants us to be in shape. He's always wanting us to be energy players and stuff like that. So, yeah, I think he's strict. I don't think he's mean. He wants us to learn the game."

Lemaire has been humbled, too.

"We're trying to prepare them so we get them to play their best, and then they have a responsibility to get prepared," he said. "So we have to do our job. They have to do their job. That's how it works. Part of it us. The other part of it is them. And I'll take some of the blame, because I'm not perfect."

So assistant coach Mario Tremblay, another ex-Canadiens teammate, will wait on his friend's decision - just like everyone else.

"We will see how it is," Tremblay said. "At his age, it's year after year. He's old enough. He knows what to do."