There’s no doubting Brendan Shanahan’s culture change now.
The Toronto Maple Leafs’ addition of Jacques Lemaire on Friday, the latest hiring by the rebuilding squad, brings yet another established hockey mind to an organization that has also added head coach Mike Babcock and general manager Lou Lamoriello since the end of its dismal 2014-15 season.
It’s a smart move by the rebuilding Leafs, says longtime Devils player and current Devils TV analyst Ken Daneyko.
“He’s a very intelligent hockey mind. Maybe one of the smartest the game has seen in the last couple of decades,” Daneyko told Sportsnet 590 The FAN’s The Jeff Blair Show on Monday.
“I learned more about defence, more about the game in the first month under Jacques Lemaire than I knew the first 11 or 12 years … of my career,” said the three-time Stanley Cup champion, crediting Lemaire with his ability to stay in the game longer. (Daneyko holds the Devils franchise record for most games played, and had his jersey raised to the rafters upon his retirement in 2006.)
Lemaire has a coaching record of 617-458-124-63 in 1,262 career games behind the bench of the Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils and Minnesota Wild. Most recently, he served as a special assignment coach with the Devils — the role he’ll fill with the Maple Leafs.
LISTEN: Ken Daneyko talks Leafs’ latest hiring
“I just learned how to think the game better, how to position myself better, how to use my stick better, and that was a lot to do with Jacques Lemaire’s teachings,” said Daneyko, who has also praised Lamoriello as being a once-in-a-generation hockey mind.
“All the little things you need to become a better hockey player, win hockey games, that’s what Jacques Lemaire is all about.”
Lemaire is a two-time Jack Adams Award winner and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. He won eight Stanley Cups as a player with the Canadiens, and also coached the Devils to the franchise’s first Cup victory in 1995.
While some have wondered if too many strong hockey opinions could actually complicate the Leafs’ rebuild, Daneyko points to the common denominator among them all: winning.
“They’re all winners,” Daneyko said. “They want to teach these guys to play the game the proper way, and I think that’s something maybe that’s been missing from the Leafs.
“It’s a fine line, winning and losing,” he added. “And these guys are all winners and they know what it takes to win. It’s usually the detailed things, the little things, and Jacques Lemaire can help with that category.”
