[News] Devils fire head coach Pete DeBoer. Hire Oates and Stevens.

[sureLoss]

Well according to the Sens, New Jersey has not asked permission to talk to Maclean.

Maclean also confirmed to a sportsnet producer that he is not the next coach.

Lou is going to address the media at 8:30 Calgary time.

Adam Oates appears to be the favourite now according to the rumor mongers.

[sureLoss]

so Lou is taking things over in the interim, and has hired Oates and Stevens to be his assistants

Shawn Roarke @sroarke_nhl
Adam Oates and Scott Stevens on bench. Stevens running D and Oates the F and Lou overseeing for a short time

Shawn Roarke @sroarke_nhl
Scott Stevens will have autonomy with D with Tommy Abelin in press box. Oates has autonamy with forwards with Foligno in press box

[the_only_turek_fan]

@FriedgeHNIC: RT @NHLDevils: President/GM Lou Lamoriello announces he will go behind bench with Adam Oates handling forwards and Scott Stevens handling defense.

[sureLoss]

Tom Gulitti @TGfireandice
Intention is for there to be one head coach for next season, Lamoreillo said. Could be Stevens or Oates or someone else.

[zukes]

Down goes brown just had an article about interim coaches. In it it mentioned how Lou said he'd never coach again, and it'd been a while.

[Machiavelli]

Weird setup.

[neo45]

Honestly sounds like a terrible idea

[Mike F]

Maybe he just needs to get to know the players?

In all seriousness, it's consistent with his past practices

On December 19, 2005, following the surprise resignation of Larry Robinson as Devils head coach, Lamoriello took over the position on an interim basis. The Devils eventually made it the Eastern Conference semi-finals before falling to the Carolina Hurricanes. When asked on television after the Devils' victory over the New York Rangers in the first round of the playoffs if he was interested in becoming head coach permanently, Lamoriello replied "Absolutely not", hiring Claude Julien as coach following the season.

On April 2, 2007, Lamoriello once again took over as interim head coach after firing Julien. The firing took place with three games left in the season, when the Devils had the second-best record in the conference and were on their way to setting a franchise record for regular season wins.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Firing Julien might be one of the dumbest things he's done. He's a little too headstrong sometimes, thinking he always knows best. Julien's record speaks for itself.

Not bashing the firing of DeBoer as it seemed like the prudent thing to do, but replacing him with Oates or Stevens is an awful decision. MacLean would have been a good choice, or even Bylsma.

[dissentowner]

Yup, I actually think the Devils will be even worse than they were. Dark days ahead for that roster.

[OzSome]

Originally Posted by browna

That was John. Not Paul. Or Ringo. Or George.

Yep that's right. I got confused there for a minute.

[Locke]

Wow, Lou just tore a page out of Edmonton's playbook on this one. Three coaches? Thats a terrible idea.

And what exactly does Scott Stevens know about coaching?

The NHL really needs to take a hint from professional soccer and have a licensing and badging system. Its like people think that any old idiot can get behind the bench.

[Yamer]

Well, most of these former players were long-time leaders (and, in Stevens' case, captains) of teams, working closely with the coaches as a mediator with the players. In theory, this transition makes sense.

Personally, I don't think Oates is the proper choice for this roster. And while I think Stevens will do well in the limited role he's in now, I'm not convinced he can manage the entire roster. Guess we'll see.

As of right now, that set-up looks as much a cluster-fata as what's going down in Edmonton.

[browna]

Originally Posted by Locke

Wow, Lou just tore a page out of Edmonton's playbook on this one. Three coaches? Thats a terrible idea.

And what exactly does Scott Stevens know about coaching?

The NHL really needs to take a hint from professional soccer and have a licensing and badging system. Its like people think that any old idiot can get behind the bench.

Originally Posted by Yamer

Well, most of these former players were long-time leaders (and, in Stevens' case, captains) of teams, working closely with the coaches as a mediator with the players. In theory, this transition makes sense.

Personally, I don't think Oates is the proper choice for this roster. And while I think Stevens will do well in the limited role he's in now, I'm not convinced he can manage the entire roster. Guess we'll see.

As of right now, that set-up looks as much a cluster-fata as what's going down in Edmonton.

Stevens was the Devils assistant for 2 seasons previously, so he's not coming in from shovelling snow. And he'll take responsibilty for the defense, like many teams do (ie Playfair under Sutter).

Unlike Edmonton, Lou has a plan and he'll (along with a former head coach in Oates) command the respect from the players. I don't think we need to rehash how much of a joke MacTavish playing puppet for Lowe is, let alone Nelson caught in the middle.

And, Lou is going to keep things inhouse for now, and jump on the Babcock sweepstakes, or, Todd McLellan if SJ doesn't do (again) what it's expected come playoff time, in the offseason.

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by neo45

Honestly sounds like a terrible idea

Oilersesque

[Ozy_Flame]

Oates played for the Edmonton Oilers. New Jersey will be no good.

[BloodFetish]

Originally Posted by Locke

Wow, Lou just tore a page out of Edmonton's playbook on this one. Three coaches? Thats a terrible idea.

And what exactly does Scott Stevens know about coaching?

The NHL really needs to take a hint from professional soccer and have a licensing and badging system. Its like people think that any old idiot can get behind the bench.

Stevens knows a little about defense, if there's a concern.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by BloodFetish

Stevens knows a little about defense, if there's a concern.

Ya, the way it was played before the NHL tightened up on illegal checks, clutching, and grabbing.

[Locke]

Lou is only there to fill the spot for the rest of the season and put the fear of God into the players. From what I understand most people are terrified of Lamiorello.

He has the power to send people to Edmonton.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by browna

Unlike Edmonton, Lou has a plan and he'll (along with a former head coach in Oates) command the respect from the players.

Trouble is, Oates is a former head coach for a pretty good reason.