Pucks and Pitchforks
Fansided

New Jersey Devils: Was Hiring Rick Kowalsky The Right Move?

By Nick Villano

TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 17: Albany Devils head coach Rick Kowalsky reacts to a call during game action against the Toronto Marlies on October 17, 2015 at the Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Graig Abel/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 17: Albany Devils head coach Rick Kowalsky reacts to a call during game action against the Toronto Marlies on October 17, 2015 at the Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Graig Abel/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The New Jersey Devils announced today they would fill one of their coaching vacancies with Rick Kowalsky. While he will be able to work with some of the young call ups, was this the right move?

After a weeks worth of teases, the New Jersey Devils finally filled their assistant coaching vacancies. One move was surprising, while the other probably makes more sense. Or does it?

Rick Kowalsky has been the head coach of the Devils AHL affiliate for eight seasons. There’s no doubt the Binghamton Devils underachieved last season, but there were many reasons for that. For one, it seemed like the move from Albany affected them. It was mostly the same team from the season before, so for them to underachieve like that had to have some kind of explanation. The move might be it.

Kowalsky did not get the team to where it needed to be last year. One of the main reasons for that is the problems with goaltending. MacKenzie Blackwood took a huge step backwards. He had a .882 save percentage and a 3.41 goals against average. Luckily, the Devils already have a really good goalie coach in Roland Melanson.

More from Pucks and Pitchforks

Kowalsky may not have been the best coach last season, but he’s been a very good coach in the past. He runs the Devils development camp, which helped the team see the star power in players like Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt. Kowalsky won AHL Coach of the Year back in 2016 after a stellar A-Devils season with a less than stellar farm system. He’s done a lot with a little for a few years now.

This season, the Devils will likely have John Quenneville, Nick Lappin, Michael McLeod, Blake Spears, Steve Santini and Eddie Lack on the roster at some point. Kowalsky worked closely with all of them last year in Binghamton. That will help ease them onto the roster.

When looking at Kowalsky as a coach, one should just ignore last year’s results. It seems to be the outlier to an overall good coaching career. This will eventually be a really good signing. Heck, it could be the best signing of the Devils offseason.

Home/Devils News