The New Jersey Devils announced last week that Sheldon Keefe was going to make changes to his coaching staff. Assistant coach Ryan McGill and coach Chris Taylor would not return after their contracts ended, and video coach Jerry Dineen was let go. This is as close to an overhaul of a staff as we see in the NHL, as coaches tend to be pretty loyal to their top guys.
However, these aren't Sheldon Keefe's guys. Most were holdovers from the Lindy Ruff regime. Another holdover is Devils legend and current assistant coach Sergei Brylin, but he has been in New Jersey for most of his career.
Brylin was drafted in the second round of the 1992 NHL Draft, and he's been a Devil ever since. He spent 13 seasons in New Jersey, including time on each of their three Stanley Cup teams. Then, he joined the coaching staff for the Albany Devils in 2013 before he got promoted to the NHL club in 2022.
Most expected Brylin to get buried with the Prudential Center, as he would continue to be on the Devils coaching staff as long as he wanted. But it sounds like a new opportunity might take Brylin away quicker than any of us expected.
Sergei Brylin might get an unexpected head coaching position that takes him away from the New Jersey Devils
As first reported by Russian sports news agency Sport-Express, Brylin is currently a candidate for the CSKA head coaching job. Brylin was a member of CSKA prior to his time in the NHL. He spent three seasons there before making the jump to the NHL. Brylin also went back to Russia instead of returning to the NHL in 2008 to spend his last four years playing in his home country.
The team's previous head coach Ilya Vorobyov was fired after he failed to get CSKA past the second round. He had a very talented team, so the firing was not surprising.
Losing Brylin would hurt, especially now that the Devils are already looking to fill their coaching staff. Teams are going after coaches to give them an opportunity. Luckily, the Devils are a desirable franchise to work with from a coaching standpoint. Losing Brylin would hurt, but Keefe could see this as an opportunity to solidify his system even further.