Speculation: Our Next Head Coach(es)

[Csonked Out]

I would laugh if we got Lemaire back again.

 

[Devils Dominion]

Slim to none.

And Slim left town

 

[Devils1029]

Not that I' in favor of it but wonder about a guy like Ron Wilson. He's a guy with tie to the US program is an established head coach with a lot of experience and can work with young players. Might also a good mentor to keep Stevens in charge of the defense.

Just saying that's he's not on any list I've seen..

 

[NJDevils17]

An actual hydra would do well to put in a culture of respect and fear. The only thing that concerns me is the possibility of one of the players being eaten. If we thought Pete was bad with benching Larsson imagine if he gets eaten!

 

[MartyOwns]

Not that I' in favor of it but wonder about a guy like Ron Wilson. He's a guy with tie to the US program is an established head coach with a lot of experience and can work with young players. Might also a good mentor to keep Stevens in charge of the defense.

Just saying that's he's not on any list I've seen..

loved him in SJ, but his time in Toronto is a blemish. of course, it was Toronto...so how much of the blame should really fall on him?

personally I'm warming up to Bylsma...it looks like it's going to happen anyway

 

[Devil X]

loved him in SJ, but his time in Toronto is a blemish. of course, it was Toronto...so how much of the blame should really fall on him?

personally I'm warming up to Bylsma...it looks like it's going to happen anyway

I am warming to Bylsma also. Part of me hopes Shero doesnt go back with a guy he has history with and tries something else. But on the other said Bylsma is one of the better choices out there and may very well be the 3rd best coach currently available.

This aritcle also had some stuff about Bylsma that didnt sound bad in a HC.

http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/12842651/nhl-wheels-motion-todd-mclellan-other-coaching-candidates

Bylsma has quickly won over the young American team with his energy, especially during practices, where it's not unusual to see him diving onto the ice to create an obstacle for players entering the offensive zone or throwing a shoulder into the mix here and there.

"[Bylsma] has a lot of spunk and a lot of energy," Team USA forward Brock Nelson told ESPN.com. "Even in the locker room, you show up in the morning at 9:00 or 9:30 a.m. and he's bouncing around in gym clothes looking for coffee. I don't know if he necessarily needed it."

It's an energy Bylsma has always had, Richards said, but coaching with him in the World Championships has helped the two share ideas and tips they've picked up since being on the same staff.

 

[JimEIV]

Bylsma is terrible coach. I hope he's not the choice

 

[njdevils1982]

is keenan available?….he could do wonders in turning the team around

 

[NJDevs26]

I don't know a lot about Bylsma but it seems to me he's more of a motivator-type than an actual x/o's brain. And that can work when you have a talented team like he did in Pittsburgh but I'm not sure it's going to work without that kind of game-breaking talent here.

personally I'm warming up to Bylsma...it looks like it's going to happen anyway

I don't believe that just because it's the easy narrative. To use a cross-sport example, people had Terry Francona going to the Cubs when Theo Epstein got the job there but it didn't work out that way.

Of course if it does happen it'd be kind of hilarious cause people assume the 'ol' boys network' was exclusive to Lou bringing back guys he worked with.

 

[JimEIV]

I don't know a lot about Bylsma but it seems to me he's more of a motivator-type than an actual x/o's brain. And that can work when you have a talented team like he did in Pittsburgh but I'm not sure it's going to work without that kind of game-breaking talent here.

I think that is accurate. He's a cheerleader not a coach.

 

[Davegarri]

I don't think Bylsma is a great hockey guy, but he is definitely fun and motivational, which I guess can help when you don't have that much skill on this team

 

[Devil X]

Interesting. I dunno much about Bylsma either honestly just what I read. If he doesn't get a head coaching job would he be a Better fit as an asst. coach?

 

[MadDevil]

Bylsma is the guy you bring in after the taskmaster coach that's drilled structure and discipline into the team. Which is why I think a team like St. Louis would be a good fit for him. The Devils? Not so much.

 

[ForeverJerseyGirl]

Bylsma comes across as a good guy who can establish positive relationships with his athletes but I'm not sure how well he does with the other side of coaching in establishing discipline and asserting his authority over players. There have also been concerns about his ability to adjust his systems, which was a major Achilles heel with DeBoer in my opinion, so I'd rather not have that again with Bylsma.

That being said, my assessment of Bylsma as a coach has softened slightly after seeing Johnston struggle in Pittsburg (doing a worse job than Bylsma, in my perspective). Bylsma does have some strengths as a coach, so he wouldn't be the worst choice I think, but he does have some warts and question marks that would make me a little hesitant about him if he is Shero's hire.

Personally, I'd prefer to see Shero bring in somebody else just because it would prove that he had learned from his mistakes in Pittsburg and was going to make some different types of decisions with the Devils (which I would find reassuring), but if he does go with Bylsma, I think that the team could do worse as long as Shero doesn't stay loyal to Bylsma too long as he did in Pittsburg in my opinion.

 

[Bleedred]

Not that I' in favor of it but wonder about a guy like Ron Wilson. He's a guy with tie to the US program is an established head coach with a lot of experience and can work with young players. Might also a good mentor to keep Stevens in charge of the defense.

Just saying that's he's not on any list I've seen..

Wilson's finished in the NHL. He's a washout at this point.

Occasionally we see some of these washouts come back, especially lately too. Ted Nolan and Bob Hartley more recently.

Then there's the washouts that still coach, but they have to do it overseas. Mike Keenan being the most popular. Marc Crawford is another one too.

Ron Wilson, Terry Murray too.

I think Torts might be approaching that. He might be brought back to the NHL in a few years from now, but I think he could be done too. At least as far as the NHL goes.

 

[Emperoreddy]

I feel comfortable predicting that Disco Dan will not be our next coach. Think its just the easy narrative right now.

 

[ForeverJerseyGirl]

I feel comfortable predicting that Disco Dan will not be our next coach. Think its just the easy narrative right now.

That's what I hope.

 

[Emperoreddy]

That's what I hope.

I don't see much reason to believe he is a front runner.

Impression I've gotten is he is waiting/hoping for some guys to be fired.

I do wonder if the GM change, changes the chances on Julian if he does get the boot in Boston.

 

[JimEIV]

Impression I've gotten is he is waiting/hoping for some guys to be fired.

What gives you that impression? I'm not disagreeing one bit. I just truly don't know and am curious.

 

[Emperoreddy]

What gives you that impression? I'm not disagreeing one bit. I just truly don't know and am curious.

From some of the interviews Shero did over the past few days. He seemed to try and distance himself from Dan (while still being polite), and he mentioned wanting to wait to see what happens with some of the playoff coaches (none by name though if I had to guess I assume he is talking about Hitch and maybe Babcock).

Also mentioned he spoke briefly with Oates and Stevens, but didn't interview them yet.

Only thing for certain is he seems to want a coach picked by the draft if possible and definitely by the start of free agency. He was pretty adamant about that.

 

[VoidCreature]

From some of the interviews Shero did over the past few days. He seemed to try and distance himself from Dan (while still being polite), and he mentioned wanting to wait to see what happens with some of the playoff coaches (none by name though if I had to guess I assume he is talking about Hitch and maybe Babcock).

Also mentioned he spoke briefly with Oates and Stevens, but didn't interview them yet.

Only thing for certain is he seems to want a coach picked by the draft if possible and definitely by the start of free agency. He was pretty adamant about that.

I got the opposite feeling. I think that Dan is definitely someone he wants to work with again. Because this is a huge decision, though, he wants to make sure he picks the right guy for the job, and it would be unfair to Stevens and Oates to not hear what they've got.

I imagine he'll explore the market heavily, see who's out there. But I don't think he would be at all displeased if it ended up being Dan.

 

[Devils090]

is keenan available?….he could do wonders in turning the team around

Oh dear god no

 

[Emperoreddy]

I got the opposite feeling. I think that Dan is definitely someone he wants to work with again. Because this is a huge decision, though, he wants to make sure he picks the right guy for the job, and it would be unfair to Stevens and Oats to not hear what they've got.

I imagine he'll explore the market heavily, see who's out there. But I don't think he would be at all displeased if it ended up being Dan.

I didnt hear anything in the interviews to indicate he was leaning towards Dan.

It doesn't mean he isn't a candidate but I don't see him as a front runner.

Shero was pretty clear in stating he has to do what is best for the Devils and Dan has to do what's best for Dan.

Doesn't sound to me that he thinks those interests align.

My guess is Shero wants to see who gets fired and wants to make an offer to Babcock and go down from there.

 

[MadDevil]

It's crazy when you think about how many coaching changes there could be this summer. Arizona, Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, Edmonton, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Jose, St. Louis, Toronto, and us will/could have different head coaches next year.

Free agency for coaches might be more interesting than free agency for players this year.

 

[NJDevs26]

From some of the interviews Shero did over the past few days. He seemed to try and distance himself from Dan (while still being polite), and he mentioned wanting to wait to see what happens with some of the playoff coaches (none by name though if I had to guess I assume he is talking about Hitch and maybe Babcock).

Well I think one of the things he pointed out was Bylsma was still under contract so he couldn't really discuss him too much, actually he got extended through 2015-16 after the end of the 2013 season.

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/...ch-Dan-Bylsma-s-contract/stories/201306130218

The Penguins didn't really press the compensation issue for Shero but that might have been out of respect for Lou as much as anything else. Might be a different story if we try to hire both lol