Lemaire to be next Devils coach?
Posted on July 13th, 2009 – 11:15 AMBy Michael Russo
The Devils have scheduled a “major” conference call for this afternoon.
As you can read here, Tom Gulitti from the Record says all signs point to Jacques Lemaire.
I’ll throw something on here when something becomes official.
I say Martin Skoula’s a Devil by week’s end. 
59 Responses to "Lemaire to be next Devils coach?"
**Re-Post**
So, with the Wild schedule coming out this week, the Mrs and I can finally plan our trip to Arizona. My one question to those in the know (WRT or anyone who goes to Wild away games), should I buy tickets online at face value, or buy them from scalpers the day of the game at a reduced rate?
This is Phoenix, so I am not too worried about not getting tickets, but given their current financial condition, I almost feel obligated to buy at face value, but I need 4 tickets, and I want to be in the lower bowl.
Good for Lemaire if its true. I think the break-up here was civil and mutual of two parties growing apart.
some one beat me to it…..but burns looked like a 30’s gangser at the scrimmage….
I gotta do this seeee….
gonna rob the bank seeee…
Skoula will go and Rolston will score 30 goals.
I dont know what makes you think Skoula wouldn’t be part of the package.
Russo:I say Martin Skoula’s a Devil by week’s end.
God help the Newark P.D. if that happens…
I will also look forward to the Rangers vs Devils game if this is the case.
Yes Martain Skoula will be the next Devils Dman deres no doubt…
I look forward to his news conference
Fletcher will work with the foundation that DR started. DR was smart. It does not pay to be impulsive with your long term. DR was simply in the wrong place at th wrong time as ownership changed. Under the cirumstances I have always said that firing DR was the right thing to do, but dont change the foundation of what was started in this organization.
The Wild could roll the dice with what they have but I dont think they will.
From the last thread:
Wild Road Tripper says:
July 13th, 2009 at 11:24 am
Gunslinger: I get e-mails from the ‘Yotes all the time. Last season they offered single game tickets at the group discount (35% off) price between mid-August and mid-September. I’ll keep you in mind…
SotB: I think you need a trip to Newark this season, to go see your buddy Marty S. play this winter. You seem to be as obsessed with Skoula as everyone else claimed I was.
Ms. C.: At least from KC you could make trips up here easier to see ‘the big club’ play at home. Also, trips to Chicago, St. Louis and Colorado become easier, also…
russo has esp again…..is new jersey short a d-man, or do they need to unload someone to get skoula….
hopefully parise or elias are too offensive for jauques tastes…..
I would take either one of those two in a trade……how funny would it be if the devils hired jaques, and they traded for sheppard!
Maybe we can try to trade them Johnson.
From last thread:
Ms.C, just stay away from Imo’s Pizza… That is the worst pizza I have ever had.
look on the positive ms. c…….keep writing minor league hockey blogs with the same gusto, and you will eventually cover the big team that moves there (probobly the islanders……good luck with that…)
Argon, Lemaire will let Parise and Elias play their own style, as long as they do it within Lemaire’s system, play high in the offensive zone, and backcheck when the puck gets above the goal line. Otherwise, the reins are off.
One week after Skoula starts practice, Brodeur ends up with a hockey stick in the eye..
Parise and Elias play on the wing so they don’t have to play high in the o-zone.
Will do, ATX. Or, will NOT do as the case may be.
Yeah, Argon, they do have the new CHL team (Missouri Mavericks) starting up there in the fall that I would cover for PHN. And there’s some decent rec hockey. I’d survive. Just not sure the job opportunity is worth the risk. He could either make partner in 2 years or could be deemed “redundant”… Of course, the alternative is being jobless in Houston NOW. *sigh*
One week after Skoula starts practice, Brodeur ends up with a hockey stick in the eye..
…and moments later, Skoula finds a stick wrapped around his neck courtesy Scott Stevens
Best of luck to JL as he is the new Devil’s coach. Certainly a class act a great hockey mind.
Anyone else excited for schedule to come out??
just wishful thinking wafer…..
they are wingers so they don’t feel the sting……and rolston will be a winger again as well….
looking at nhl numbers parasie is listed as a center….I don’t see him playing center on a jl system…..
that would mean they have zajac….and that’s it……I think we could trade bela and one more mid prospect for zubris…….solid scoring winger……
I like langenbrunner more, but he is a defensive forward…..and we have plenty of those…..
Parise and Elias play on the wing so they don’t have to play high in the o-zone.
Under Lemaire, they will be required to play center. Existing centers will be converted to defensemen.
ATX…Imo’s pizza rocks. I even brought 4 pies home from the St. Louis…
Good for JL if it’s true.
Burnz looks great–pretty close to what I had imagined, only no pheasant feather nor vest. Looks like he found a lady that can dress him.
M 03, kj, et al, the gig on Friday was by far one of the most memorable shows we’ve had–memorable, unfortunately, for the fact that it was kind of a nightmare.
It was the worst venue we’ve played at, and that’s counting the high school days during which we were Kings of the ice cream socials circuit. Where to start?
They were paying the sound guy with proceeds from selling hot dogs. He even had to serve them, I think, since the crockpot was set up at the sound board table. I’ve always thought that sound guys should get paid based on the quality of sound they mix, not based on the audience’s fondness for wieners.
There were announcements between bands for a Corn Feed event later in the month. Not only will there be all-you-can-eat corn, but they’ll be serving “Adult” hot dogs–whatever that means. And those proceeds are going towards the venue’s back taxes.
And finally, the last band was a mesmerizing trainwreck. Just couldn’t look away. The only way to describe them is liken them to a monster truck full of Mountain Dew drinking chainsaws that are spiking footballs in the endzone. Just awesome.
But we played OK, especially considering that hard-hitting funk drumming isn’t exactly a good remedy for a slowly healing separated shoulder.
Defensemen will then be converted to goalies?
Sorry for the book. :\
In all seriousness, I agree with what you’re saying Argon, I was being facetious. Sort of.
Existing centers will be converted to defensemen.
And current defensemen will be converted into extra goalies.
also the devils already have 7 d-men listed…..don’t know if the bottom 3 are able to go to the minors…..so skoula might have to go in fighting for a job…..and we all know he doesn’t fight!
chl….step lower than ahl…..or even?
are they a minor league affiliate, or not affiliated with the nhl at all?
ms. c……follow your heart……what pulls at your strings and makes you smile…..that is where you should go…..
Defensemen will then be converted to goalies?
Martin Brodeur, duh. Extra defensemen play wing.
ATX…Imo’s pizza rocks.
kj, you must have been on drugs when you ate it… it’s disgusting. It’s like Velveeta and Ketchup on stale Crackers.
TheFastOne says:
July 13th, 2009 at 11:57 am
Anyone else excited for schedule to come out??
Oh he// yes, no one on here needs to ask! We can start planning our lives for the next 9-10 months!!
wouldn’t actually mind shipping gilies if we could get parise back……..
scoring wingers are hard to come by……
all this pizza talk is funny…..
there is a pizza hut add on the bottom of the page right now!!!
Not a good day to be Ms. C., folks.
Sounds like Mr. C. received a ‘move it or lose it’ job offer. That sucks.
awwww….now it’s gone…. 
Harding and Gillies for Parise?
Only if someone slips Lamoriello a roofie first, though.
ms. c is a trooper….she’ll make it through….remember…she is a goalie….and goalies always make it through…..(unless they are kari leightonen!)
and if all else fails she has kittens to cheer her up, and russo will need an assistant when he goes to espn!
WRT:
—You seem to be as obsessed with Skoula as everyone else claimed I was.—
You will note that woodcock and I have never brought up the subject of Skoula except in response to those who first post that he sux.
Like I mentioned earlier, in my experience, everytime this discussion is conducted in the presence of NHL experienced players and coaches, they point to Skoula as a solid player.
It’s not that we love Skoula. We just have a hard time letting irrational, non-linear posts go by.
Yeah, Argon, we’re all hoping my heart will say something definitive to me during this trip. No pressure or anything.
CHL, IMO is a shade below ECHL, but I have to wonder if they’re maybe leveling off a bit. But it’s definitely a heaping step below AHL, at least based on the Mudbugs game I went to last year.
Still. It’s pro hockey. And these are the guys doing it for the love of the game. But talk about a fan base that really gets f’ed by call-ups to the AHL. Oh man.
broduer isn’t that old……gillies and belanger for parise…….we’d have to find another center, though…..a fifth one so we aren’t scrwed when shep gets benched….
fritzy will be a devil…..I guarantee it….
ms. c…….good luck with the demotion…….kansas city deserves at least an ahl team……but hey…..at least they get an all-star ahl writer!
(clearly we have some bias here!)
you’d better still be a wild fan!!!!!!
Me and NiNY will hunt you down if you disown the team!!!!
Ms. C.: Buck up, girl. Life will take care of you. Hopefully behind this cloud, there will be lots of silver linings. (:-) )
Oh, not to say that guys in higher leagues are just doing it for money… but really, they’re getting peanuts in the lower minors…
It’s nothing new, WRT. We’ve had this situation in front of us for a while, but we’re very much getting to the fish or cut bait point. They won’t straight up fire him if he doesn’t take the gig, but they’ll make it so awful, he’ll quit on his own.
Thanks WRT.
I think I may hold off on the tickets for now anyway, and just book the vacation the week of the game so I can get tickets anytime before the game.
If I’m old by hockey standards (35), then Brodeur is AARP eligible (37).
SotB: I think you need to go to the Bergen County Record Devils’ blog and start talking up Martin S., before the Devils’ fans find out he is as over-rated as some of us believe he is.
Just wanted to say thank you Michael for including the link to the blog from Twitter! Makes things much easier when it’s in the tweet (I still feel a little silly saying that):-)
I would take either one of those two in a trade……how funny would it be if the devils hired jaques, and they traded for sheppard!
i would laugh so hard!
Honestly, his job has been such a rollercoaster for so many years, I’m unaffected by it almost to a fault. I used to get really dragged down and anxious about it, but at some point I just said, “Okay, he’s a big boy. I’ll be a sounding board but I can’t carry this around on my shoulders.”
So, it’s a big deal but emotionally, it’s really not. I roll with the flow pretty well and I’m at a point with my writing and my playing that I feel somewhat okay being left to my own devices. Though one of the main things keeping me here is my “mentor” relationships on both fronts.
I agree KC deserves an AHL team, but it looks like the support for this CHL team is pretty good. Looks like they’re going about it business-wise with a good plan. They’ve hired a good coach and the owners are actually Texans.
And no, I’d never disown the Wild. Now, if I had a new AHL team… my attention might shift. But with CHL, the relationship to the N isn’t close enough to matter.
WRT, Maybe the Devils fans will be able to look at Martin S with unprejudiced eyes just as SI’s Muir regarded him as one of the best values in the NHL this year.
Gunslinger: Yeah, it’s not like the ‘Yotes game will sell out or anything…unless you’re Detroit.
Think about it: people ask me why so many Detroit fans come on the road. Why? Because they’d rather travel up to 2,800 miles to see the Wings rather than risk life and limb going to the Joe…besides, most hockey fans that grew up in Detroit now live somewhere else (because there’s no jobs left in Detroit).
ms c, I am across the pond and so have missed your travails. You may have to move to KC? Not that I am a big fan of Houston but other than barbecue not sure what KC has. My sister used to live there and there just wasn’t much to see when we went there but I guess it is a pleasant place to live. Worked ok for Harry Truman.
NHL.com confirmed that Lemiere will be back behind the Devils bench next year.
Hang it up, Jacques. Liked you here but is it really worth it to go through all of this? Enjoy your millions of dollars and family and call it a career, it’s been a great one.
Food - again!
Food. Micheal posted up a fresh item.
wow…..san jose has some serious cap issues……
they need to sign 7 players with 1.6 mil left…..
way too much money tied up at D, and not enough 3rd/4th line forwards….
I doubt we could get vlasic….he is their only young d-man signed long term at a good price….
the I see them trading either marleau or cheechoo…..you think we could fleece them for bela for cheechoo straight up?
“Good for Lemaire if its true. I think the break-up here was civil and mutual of two parties growing apart.”
Personally I think the break-up here was pre-emptive on Lemaire’s part. I think Lemaire expected (then GM) Doug Riseborough to fire him, and figured he’d be better off if he just quit immediately after the last game.
But thankfully Leopold made the bold (yet deserved) move to fire DR anyway.
Maybe Lemaire could’ve stayed if it was clear Leopold was going to fire DR, maybe Lemaire would’ve left anyway instead of trying to learn a new GM. Maybe the new GM would’ve fired Lemaire anyway. It’s a lot of ifs, but in any event, Lemaire was better of resigning, and he defiantly deserved better than to be fired by Riseborough, and I respect his quick resignation.
I think Lemaire got way more criticism than he deserved. I think the team’s failings should be laid way more at the feet of managment than with the coaching staff. I think the coaches did an amazing job given what they had to work with (injured stars, no centers).
And before I hear any “get over it DR’s gone” I’ll answer that with until Johnsson’s contract is off the books, a little piece of him is still here.
Still I don’t think Lou Lamarillo is easy to work for either (how many coaching changes in New Jersey over the last decade?)
