On TSN Insider Trading, Pierre LeBrun gave an update on where the head of GM Tom Fitzgerald is at on the future of the New Jersey Devils head coaching spot.
On TSN Insider Trading, Pierre LeBrun gave an update on where the head of GM Tom Fitzgerald is at on the future of the New Jersey Devils head coaching spot.
LeBrun mentions that the Devils have been pleased with the job Interim HC Travis Green has done but no decision has been made quite yet.
James Duthie asked LeBrun if Green was a slam dunk to be the full-time head coach and LeBrun responded with "Not quite".
"My sense from talking to the Devils is that Travis Green is a serious candidate, absolutely. They love what he has done since taking over for Lindy Ruff. The Devils feel that they are a different team, they play differently but GM Tom Fitzgerald will probably still look at some other candidates just to have a thorough process in terms of naming a head coach at the end of the year. Bigger names perhaps like (Craig) Berube, (Todd) McLellan, Gerard Gallant".
The Devils are 6-6-0 since Green took over. The trades for Jake Allen and Kaapo Kahkonen have helped the team win games as of late but the team's record since the coaching change hasn't been much better than before.
Berube had been the head coach of the St. Louis Blues since the 2018-19 season. He took the Blues team that sat in last place at one point in the season to the Stanley Cup where they beat the Boston Bruins. The Blues made the playoffs the next three seasons but failed to last year. Berube was fired during the season when the team couldn't score on the power play and were sliding lower in the standings.
McLellan was fired by the Los Angeles Kings this season as well. The Kings had made the playoffs for two straight seasons but lost in the first round to the Edmonton Oilers both times. The Kings were struggling to find any bit of consistency before deciding to relieve McLellan of his coaching duties. He's been a head coach since 2008 and during this time he's coached the San Jose Sharks, Edmonton Oilers, Team Canada at the World Championships and Team North America at the 2016 World Cup.
The final candidate mentioned was Gallant. He received his first head coaching job in the 2003-04 season. Throughout these years he's spent time as an assistant coach and also coaching in the QMJHL. In this time frame, he's head coached the Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers, Vegas Golden Knights and most recently the New York Rangers. Gallant wasn't brought back to be the coach of the Rangers after losing to the Devils in the first round of the playoffs last season.
From these reports, the Devils are looking for a coach with a lot of experience. They tried this route with Lindy Ruff and are attempting it again with Travis Green.
Green has nine games remaining to make a significant impact to boost his chances of becoming the full-time head coach.
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