Fansided

Every current NHL franchise’s most beloved head coach

By Griffin Youngs

(Original Caption) Detroit Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman with the Stanley Cup on day of Red Wings celebratory parade in Detroit. (Photo by © Ralf-Finn Hestoft/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
(Original Caption) Detroit Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman with the Stanley Cup on day of Red Wings celebratory parade in Detroit. (Photo by © Ralf-Finn Hestoft/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images) /
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NEWARK, NJ – JANUARY 06: Head coach Jacques Lemaire of the New Jersey Devils walks the bench during the game against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Prudential Center on January 6, 2011 in Newark, New Jersey. The Flyers defeated the Devils 4-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ – JANUARY 06: Head coach Jacques Lemaire of the New Jersey Devils walks the bench during the game against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Prudential Center on January 6, 2011 in Newark, New Jersey. The Flyers defeated the Devils 4-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

New Jersey Devils: Jacques Lemaire

The Devils have actually seen a lot of success since moving from Colorado in 1982, with multiple championships all under different coaches each time they’ve won them. This is probably one of the more difficult decisions made on this list. While Larry Robinson and Pat Quinn can easily be on this list, Jacques Lemaire edges out the both of them.

Lemaire came on board to New Jersey in 1993 after four consecutive first round exits, and right away you could see the difference for the Devils. The Devils finally broke through to round two with a seven game over the Sabres, and advanced all the way to the conference finals before losing a historic seven game series to the Rangers.

The next season? The Devils absolutely ran through the competition after winning the Eastern Conference, and lost only four games enroute to the first Stanley Cup in franchise history. Their sweep over the heavily favored Red Wings is one of the finest New Jersey sports moments to ever exist.

Lemaire remained with the Devils until 1998, before leaving to coach the expansion Minnesota Wild. Lemaire returned to the Devils in the 2009-10 season.

Lemaire announced his retirement as a head coach in the NHL on April 26, 2010, but next season, Lemaire once again took over as head coach in New Jersey mid-season and actually almost snuck the team into the Stanley Cup Playoffs after they had one of the worst starts to the season in recent history.

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