The New Jersey Devils might have a new head coach on the way.
There is a solid rumor out there that the New Jersey Devils have made a decision regarding their head coaching position. The season is over for them. They will not be returning to play in the 24-team tournament, so they are focusing on finding permanent solutions to the head coach and general manager positions. There are interims at both spots that are in consideration, but it sounds like Peter Laviolette is going to be the head coach of the Devils over Alain Nasreddine.
Peter Laviolette has been an NHL coach for parts of 18 seasons. Those 18 seasons have been split between the New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers, and Nashville Predators. He has a career coaching record of 637-425-25-123 in 1210 games. That is a total of 1422 standings points and a .588 points percentage.
This may or may not end up coming true, but if it does there is a lot to unpack. Some people see the accomplishments he has as a coach in the National Hockey League. That gets them excited. He has won the Stanley Cup as a coach and had three appearances in the Final. Those teams he won with are all very rosters and makeup.
There is a lot of question with his ability to get the most out of the current Devils roster. They have a lot of extremely skilled young players that make you wonder if Laviolette is the man to get the most out of them. Guys like Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes would be much better served if their team can possess the puck and play the game the right way in all three zones. Hopefully, Laviolette would have a system in place that can complement the roster.
Hischier seems to be the type of player that is going to explode any day now regardless of who his head coach. Hughes is the one that needs to be put in the right offensive situations to maximize his extremely high ceiling. They also need to make sure that they play well as a team so their goaltenders can play their game.
There have also been other rumors about potential head coaches and general managers, but Laviolette seems like he might be the guy. If it is true, root for him to do the best job he can do and recreate that team success he has had in the past. All we want in the end is for the New Jersey Devils to be a good hockey team and have a chance at the Stanley Cup. If they go with Peter Laviolette to be the next in line to try and do that, we ride or die.