New Jersey Devils Head Coach Candidate: Dan Bylsma

With the New Jersey Devils having hired Ray Shero to be their new GM, perhaps the biggest question of the off-season is who will be the next head coach? We covered the possibility of Scott Stevens being hired, but now we are looking at a former colleague of Shero’s. Dan Bylsma was the Pittsburgh Penguins Head Coach from 2008-2014 and won a Stanley Cup during that time. Everyone knows the connection between Shero and Bylsma, but does it make sense for both Bylsma and the New Jersey Devils given the state of the team?

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took over as head coach in the middle of the Penguins 2008-2009 season and lead them to the franchise’s 3rd Stanley Cup. Bylsma was very successful during his time in Pittsburgh. In 401 games as Head Coach of the Penguins his teams went for a combined total of 252-117-32. He led the Pens to two division titles and an Eastern Conference title while going 43-45 in 78 playoff games.

Shero was fired prior to Dan Bylsma in 2014 and with superstars like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin it’s easy to see why they were fired together. The Penguins management wasn’t going to settle for anything less than the Stanley Cup (much like the Devils used to) and felt they needed to go in a new direction. Dan Bylsma accomplished more than just winning the Stanley Cup during his time in Pittsburgh.

In just 316 games, Dan Bylsma reached 200 wins as a head coach (fastest in NHL history). He also reached 250 wins in just 395 games (also fastest in NHL history). A lot of credit is due to the teams Dan Bylsma had to help him achieve these milestones, but no one can deny that he played a big part in accomplishing that success. Bylsma also won the Jack Adams Award as the league’s most outstanding coach in the 2010-2011 season. In 2014, he coached the U.S. Men’s Olympic Hockey Team in Sochi and became the Pens winningest coach in franchise history.

While Dan Bylsma’s prior coaching experience proves he is a well-experienced NHL head coach, we decided to get some input from our friends over at Pens Labyrinth for more input on him.

Strengths:

"“He’s great with young players and is well-respected by his team. His system is up-tempo with quick stretch passes on the breakout to gain the neutral zone quickly. Also has an effective aggressive forecheck.”"

Weaknesses:

"“The defensive side of his system is a weakness. His teams have typically struggled playing with a lead. They allow too many opportunities from high % areas. Won’t abandon that stretch pass against passive teams (like the Devils) and it causes a ton of turnovers and odd man breaks. Leaves his goalie out to dry.”"

There are a few things that standout to me at first glance when looking at these strengths and weaknesses. If Dan Bylsma is to be the next New Jersey Devils head coach, then he will definitely need to do some work with the young defensemen and forwards in order to maximize their potential. The fact that his system is up-tempo doesn’t surprise me as most teams are focusing on a faster paced game, but the New Jersey Devils traditionally aren’t that type of team. If he were to come in and implement his system, there would definitely have to be some roster turnover for it to be effective.

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Hearing that Dan Bylsma’s concerns me a little bit. The New Jersey Devils are a defense first team and with a young core of defensemen this could be a recipe for disaster. I’m assuming that Lou Lamoriello will try to have Ray Schero and the next head coach make some tweaks to the current system, but not anything drastic. It would also be extremely difficult to make a quick and smooth transition to a system like Bylsma’s due to the quality and type of players currently on the roster.

In my opinion I think Dan Bylsma is a great head coach, but it’s hard to figure out how he’d fit in New Jersey. He’s shown he can work well with Ray Shero, but he doesn’t have the superstars he had during his time in Pittsburgh. While he did win the Jack Adams Award during a season where both Crosby and Malkin missed a lot of time, I’m unsure of how he’d fit in the New Jersey Devils system. A lot depends on what direction Shero wants the team to move in, something that as of now is a mystery to all. Something tells me that the New Jersey Devils system may change, but not as much as fans would like to see.

Ray Shero wouldn’t do bad in trying to sign Dan Bylsma to be the next head coach of the New Jersey Devils, but I would understand if he decided not to sign him. What do you think? Should Ray Shero try to bring in Dan Bylsma to be the next head coach? Vote in the poll below to see what other fans think about this!