Former New Jersey Devils star leaves coaching job; could he return to his former team?

The New Jersey Devils are trying to keep all the expected changes organized. Sunny Mehta is the new man on campus, and after the Devils decided against hiring a President of Hockey Operations, they can move forward. Now, they have to evaluate the rest of the franchise. 

Of course, Mehta is going to start with his personal team. There are still a lot of pieces in place, like assistant GMs Kate Madigan and Dan MacKinnon. Martin Brodeur is lingering over everything. The scouting staff and the development staff is still in place. Making these types of moves takes time, but the Devils are not that far away from the draft. 

The big decision most fans are looking at is the decision on Sheldon Keefe. Will the Devils go into the season with Keefe as head coach again? It would be his third season at the helm, but some are curious if Keefe is a different head coach without Fitzgerald. 

We shall see what happens over the next few weeks. Keefe did get a chance to watch Mehta’s press conference, which gave some analysts reason to think he was returning, but nothing is guaranteed at this point of the offseason. The Devils could fall in love with a head coach that’s on the market right now, or one that could become available in the future. Anything can happen after the first round of the playoffs. 

Either way, with Keefe or with a new coach, an intriguing former Devils player and long-time coach just made himself a free agent. 

Kirk Muller is available for the New Jersey Devils if they want to book the reunion

Muller came to the Devils with the second-overall pick in the 1984 NHL Draft. A win at the end of the season gave the Devils that pick instead of the first-overall pick, which would have been Mario Lemieux. He spent seven seasons with the Devils, hitting 30 goals three times and hitting a career-high 94 points during the 1987-88 season, the first season where the Devils made the postseason.

He would go on to play for the Canadians, Islanders, Panthers, Maple Leafs, and Stars before retiring in 2003. Ironically, the Devils haven’t won a Stanley Cup since Muller has been a player in the league.

A few years after he retired, Muller got into coaching, first taking a job with the Canadiens in 2006 as an assistant. He eventually got the head coaching job in Carolina, but he only lasted three seasons. Since then, he’s been an assistant/associate coach for the Canadiens (again), Blues, Flames, and now, Capitals. 

The Devils coaching staff, even if they keep Keefe, is going to be re-evaluated. The Devils power play felt monotonous at times under Jeremy Colliton. His job is very much on the line. Would Muller be an upgrade over the former Chicago Blackhawks head coach?

There were issues with the Capitals power play, too, which ended at just 17.8 percent this season. There were complaints of a lack of movement, which often hurts the Devils in the same way.

While Muller is a nice story and an interesting nostalgia act, he’s not the right coach for the Devils at this time. 

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