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New Jersey Devils Hire Alain Nasreddine Interim Head Coach

By Joseph Stanislau

NEWARK, NJ - DECEMBER 3: Interim Head Coach Alain Nasreddine address the media after coaching his first game as Head Coach against the Vegas Golden Knights at the Prudential Center on December 3, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. The Knights defeated the Devils 4-3. (Photo by Andy Marlin/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ - DECEMBER 3: Interim Head Coach Alain Nasreddine address the media after coaching his first game as Head Coach against the Vegas Golden Knights at the Prudential Center on December 3, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. The Knights defeated the Devils 4-3. (Photo by Andy Marlin/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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After two very startling losses to the New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres, it became public that New Jersey Devils head coach John Hynes got fired. In his last post-game interview with the media, he spent just 57 seconds going over the game. To be fair, from the first four games in the season, Devils fans knew their stomachs couldn’t take anymore setbacks. The writing on the wall was honestly there from the beginning.

Now, with a two-day break in the schedule before the New Jersey Devils face the Chicago Blackhawks there is time to let things set in. Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane are both 31 years old, but they’re still both very good.

The fact that the Devils have a template of 2 centers like Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier at their ripe young ages learning to play together under Alain Nasreddine‘s guidance until the summer will allow these two to gain chemistry and play to their potentials.

Coach Nasreddine’s job will be able to allow the flow, efficiency, transition, chemistry, and being able to build structure across all phases of the game. Coach Horachek will assist Alain in keeping the players in a more high intensity, free flowing, fast, and attacking system. Sure, the Devils lost 4-3 to the Golden Knights in regulation, but this team had far more control of the game than they ever did the past two games. Despite Jonathan Marchessault‘s hat trick, you have to hand it to the Devils tonight in rebounding under Alain’s short time strategy.

There are people out there thinking Nasreddine is the same philosophical coach as Hynes was. This may sound crazy, but Hynes was more of a USA National Team Development coach or an AHL coach who helped build a foundation when Shero was beginning to stockpile the cupboard. After the past few drafts of 2017, 2018, 2019, those middle and late-round picks are awaiting in the pipeline. Players like Jesper Boqvist will get their true ice time and get consistent line mates.

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Nasreddine’s first game as head coach is more “let them play to their skills, abilities, and potential” type of coach. It seemed when the players on the bench like Jesper Boqvist finished the first period headed into the locker room there was a smile on his face. There is a moment in time where you have to refresh everything and begin to tidy things like Marie Kondo. It seems the team is embracing their joy playing for Nasreddine and Horachek now for the time being. However, under Hynes there was no such thing as joy, and the environment and the stress before was all too painful.

Going forward with the Taylor Hall calls and likely Miles Wood trade talk, teams will pay up big time for Taylor Hall. To be blunt and honest, it’s time to take the Marie Kondo philosophy on this team. This will help weed out players who not only don’t fit under Nasreddine and Shero, but also helps build a more prudent, and wise asset management. Shero should also be looking for players who could fit around Jack Hughes, Kyle Palmieri, Jesper Bratt, Jesper Boqvist, Blake Coleman, and Nikita Gusev as a nucleus of forwards.

The pieces for Nasreddine or whoever gets the full-time head coaching spot is there in place. For the next head coach of the New Jersey Devils, you have to put in place structure from offense, defense, special teams, and making it easier for Mackenzie Blackwood in net. There is a lot of creativity, talent, skill, and potential in this young team but it’s an untapped potential that needs to be harnessed. Speaking of harnessing for Nasreddine he has to keep allowing each pairing to play with one another and gain experience with one another, and not to the “Vitamix Method” his predecessor did.

It remains to be seen what the near and end results will be, but the hypothesis is Top 10 in the NHL Draft Lottery. Things may improve a lot better if things pickup under Nasreddine playing smarter and more effective combinations of strategies. Any sort of strategic advancement on and off the ice from practices to pre-game skates will most certainly benefit the team from playing as badly they did under John Hynes.

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