John MacLean Replaced by Jacques Lemaire as Devils Coach

Filed under: Devils, Eastern, NHL Coaching

The New Jersey Devils have reportedly fired head coach John MacLean. Jacques Lemaire will return to the Devils for his third stint, this time as an interim coach. Lemaire "retired" last spring after the Devils lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Philadelphia Flyers.

The news, first broken by the website of CKAC Radio in Montreal, has been confirmed by Star-Ledger (NJ) columnist Steve Politti, who cited a source "who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the decision."

As of 10:15 a.m. Thursday, the Devils had yet to make an official announcement of the coaching change.

MacLean, a popular player from the Devils' Stanley Cup teams, was 9-22-2 in his first season as head coach. The Devils and New York Islanders, who face each other Thursday night in New Jersey, are tied for last in the NHL with 20 points.

Lemaire is expected to be behind the bench against the Islanders on Thursday. Although he was coached by him briefly at the end of last season, Devils right wing Ilya Kovalchuk said Lemaire was the best coach he ever played for.

 

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Source: http://nhl.fanhouse.com/2010/12/23/john-maclean-reportedly-replaced-by-jacques-lemaire-as-coach-of/

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