In New Jersey Peter DeBoer will get the chance to do what he was not able to do in Florida: win.
Finally, Peter DeBoer will find out what it's like to coach in the NHL.
Although the 43-year-old spent the past three years with the Florida Panthers, failing to make the playoffs in all three seasons, he never really had the opportunity to succeed. The Panthers were not a team trying to win, but rather an organization just trying to keep its head above water.
DeBoer joined the Panthers with an impressive winning record at the junior level, having led the Kitchener Rangers to the Memorial Cup championship in 2003. He was also named the Ontario Hockey League's coach of the year twice (1999 and 2000).
Despite the accolades and experience at the NHL level some still say it is a curious signing by the Devils; if the team is going to go for a recycled NHL coach, then why not go for one with a winning track record? But therein lies the genius of the Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello: He knows DeBoer is a quality coach with a winning track record prior to joining the NHL and his record in Florida - 103-107-36 - is impressive given what he had to work with.
- DeBoer earned 93 points in 2008/09
- The following season the Panthers earned 77
- DeBoer's first game is Oct. 8 vs. PHI
There were plenty of rumors as to who would get the job; from Michel Therrien to Devils assistant coach Adam Oates to Guy Carbonneau to Ken Hitchcock to even Jacques Lemaire. Any one of those men may have come in and done the job for the Devils. Lemaire enjoyed an amazing run as interim coach of the Devils last season after he replaced John MacLean, but the feeling was he only did it as a favor to Lamoriello who had hired him previously in his career.
That and the fact he was still under contract.
Still, Lamoriello rolled the dice on a coach with a losing NHL record.
Lamoriello told the media Wednesday he has been keeping tabs on DeBoer over the past two decades and admired the fact his teams were always well-prepared and disciplined. With the Devils, DeBoer will get the chance, for the first time, to direct good to very good NHL players. This is a team that boasts the likes of Ilya Kovalchuk, Patrik Elias, Zach Parise not to mention future Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur.
Life wasn't so luxurious in Florida where the Panthers did not provide him with top-end talent outside of goaltender Tomas Vokoun. There was never really an urgency to win in Florida, but you just know that will not be the case in New Jersey where Lamoriello has a very high standard of operation and a burning desire to be the best team in the NHL. Stephen Weiss led the Panthers in scoring last season with 21 goals and 49 points in 76 games and by all accounts, had quite a good year. But Weiss would be a No. 2 centre on most good teams. In Florida, he was easily his team's top skater.
The Devils, who have won three Stanley Cups in the past 17 seasons, have not missed the playoffs in back-to-back years since 1985-86 and 1986-87. Based on their strong play in the second half, when they went from being one of the worst and most dysfunctional teams in the league to one of the best and nearly making it into the post-season, the expectations for this coming season will be high.
What's going to be interesting is to see how long it takes DeBoer to find his game again. There were reports that constant losing took its toll on the normally mild-mannered coach last season and that his relationship with his players deteriorated. Hey, when you are doing your best to win, but you aren't being provided with the players to be successful, it's easy to see that happening.
DeBoer has a wealth of offensive talent at his disposal, but the Devils have always been a defence-first team. Based on the success he had in Plymouth and then in Kitchener there is every reason to believe DeBoer will be able to handle this situation.
This is a great challenge as well as a wonderful opportunity for a coach that very nearly had his career derailed by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Coaching the New Jersey Devils is the exact opposite: It's being in the right place at the right time.
