It may be late July, but the 2025-26 NHL season will be here before fans know it. And for the New Jersey Devils, expectations are high. With plenty of stars on their roster and an early playoff exit under Head Coach Sheldon Keefe (hired as recently as May of 2024), everyone in the league is looking to see how the Devils will perform in the upcoming year.
Between the salary cap, roster transactions, and figuring out defenseman Luke Hughes' contract, the future of the Devils is up in the air. The roster is still flawed, and it will take a big Sheldon Keefe perfomance to get the most out of this roster.
Sheldon Keefe is the new bench boss for the @NJDevils! 🫡 pic.twitter.com/ytIey2Pkp5
— NHL (@NHL) May 23, 2024
However, looking at the past could be a positive experience for Keefe and the Devils. Some of he Devils' best coaches got the most out of their roster, and some even brought them to a Stanley Cup. So, with that in mind, let's take a look at the five best coaches in Devils' history.
Top three NJ Devils coaches in history
3. Pat Burns
Pat Burns is an incredibly successful coach. The Devils have only hoisted the Stanley Cup a total of three times (1995, 2000, and 2003), and the most recent instance was under Burns. Known for establishing a strong defensive game backed up by even stronger goaltenders — Burns being a three-time Jack Adams Award winner and leading the New Jersey franchise in winning percentage only proves the point about why he belongs on this list.
Burns was elected into the Hall of Fame, but it unfortunately came after his death. Burns is considered one of the greatest coaches in all of hockey, let alone just the Devils. He was forced to resign from coaching the Devils after a second cancer diagnosis, but he will always be remembered fondly for leading the Devils to their third Stanley Cup.
2. Larry Robinson
Any coach who was able to establish success after a successful playing career of their own is extra impressive. Larry Robinson fits that bill.
Robinson achieved great success in the league as a defenseman and is regarded as one of the most legendary players in Montreal Canadiens history. Additionally, he finds himself on lists with all-time greats and was even inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1995.
As a coach, he saw success as well. Robinson was known as a calming influence for the Devils’ franchise and helped the team form stability during a tumultuous time. He even led the team to hoist a Stanley Cup in 2000 even when he took over for Robbie Ftorek in March of that year.
Robinson also knew how to build on momentum as a coach, leading the Devils to be a Stanley Cup finalist the following year in 2001. Robinson would have a total of three stints with the Devils, taking over for Burns when his health declined, and also joined Brent Sutter's staff in 2007.
1. Jacques Lemaire
If you call yourself a Devils fan and think Jacques Lemaire shouldn’t be No. 1 on this list, I have some questions for you.
Lemaire led the Devils to their first-ever Stanley Cup in 1995 in a sweeping fashion against the Detroit Red Wings and is also known for his famous neutral zone trap, which defined the team’s defensive identity at the time. He also boasts the most wins in franchise history as head coach with 276.
His coaching style also shaped the identity of Devils’ hockey in the 1990s and helped them achieve a reputation as one of the great NHL franchises that wasn’t an original six team.
Not to mention he also won the Jack Adams Award in 1994 and is a fellow hockey Hall of Fame member.
Flashing forward to the present — Keefe still has time to establish himself as one of the great coaches with the New Jersey Devils. Let’s hope that next year is the start of that upward trajectory for his career.