New Jersey Devils Head Coach Candidate: Adam Oates
By Phil DeHaven
New Jersey Devils GM Ray Shero has a lot of things to accomplish this off-season. One the biggest tasks he faces is finding a new head coach. We already covered the possibility of Todd McLellan, Scott Stevens or Dan Bylsma being named the head coach, but what about Adam Oates? Oates joined the New Jersey Devils coaching staff with Stevens and Lamoriello after he fired Peter DeBoer. Adam Oates presents an interesting option as he is offensively minded and has prior head coaching experience.
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The Devils went 20-19-7 under the watch of Oates, Stevens and Lamoriello this season. In the 46 games they coached, the team performed better both offensively and defensively as their scoring differential was only -9. In 36 games under DeBoer this season the New Jersey Devils scoring differential was -26. The team did not get the results they wanted, but they were undoubtedly stronger without DeBoer.
One advantage Adam Oates has over fellow head coach candidate Scott Stevens is his experience. Oates was formerly the head coach of the Washington Capitals from 2012-2014. In his first season as the Caps head coach, Oates led them to the best Southeast Division record in the lockout shortened season. After losing in the first round of the playoffs that year they came back in 2013 and missed the playoffs. Shortly after that he would be relieved of his duties as head coach in Washington.
For a closer look at what Adam Oates could bring to the New Jersey Devils as their head coach, we reached out to our friends at Stars and Sticks for some comments. Below is what they had to say about Adam Oates from his time as the Caps Head Coach.
Advantages:
"“He certainly will improve the power play. Veteran forwards will likely like him. He got along with Alex Ovechkin quite well and actually helped “fix” his offense. The Caps are even still using his power-play set up.”"
Disadvantages:
"“Did not handle young players well with the Caps (i.e. Connor Carrick and Tom Wilson). Not sure if it was more of the assistant coach of defense, but his defensive system in DC was awful. He also had issues with Braden Holtby and the goaltenders. He’d basically ride the hot hand. Oates didn’t attempt to fix problems, he largely ignored them. He also didn’t handle the Martin Erat situation well at all.”"
So as you can see from the comments above, most who follow the Caps likely do not think highly of Adam Oates. The negatives largely outweigh the positives and ignoring problems as a head coach is always alarming. The other thing that alarms me from the comments is Oates’ poor handling of younger players. If he wants to be the New Jersey Devils Head Coach he will have no choice but to get along with the younger players, especially on defense. The fact that his power-play is still being used by the Caps is pretty impressive, but may not be enough for me.
Adam Oates is someone who can be an NHL head coach, but needs to address some of his own coaching problems first before going forward. You’re not going to last long in this league if you can’t get along with your younger players and goalies. Oates can’t run away from his problems and needs to be a leader as the head coach. Serving as an assistant coach for the New Jersey Devils may have helped him build relationships with the goalies and defense, but it will take more than that.
The New Jersey Devils power-play finished the season with the 8th best power-play in the league, which is crazy given their obvious scoring issues. Oates may have a large part in that success, but they will need to score at even strength if they want to win. Do you want Adam Oates to be the next Head Coach of the New Jersey Devils? Let us know by voting in the poll below!