Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
Word came out this week that Lou Lamoriello does not want to be behind the New Jersey Devils‘ bench next season. While this was obvious to most people, the question arises as to who should take his place next season.
It seems like there will be an overhaul behind the benches all across the NHL. Outside of the Devils, the Toronto Maple Leafs will be looking for a new coach. The Edmonton Oilers are also likely to go for a new coach after firing Dallas Eakins mid-season. Then you can look at the many coaches who could be let go or decide to go elsewhere which includes Mike Babcock in Detroit, Craig Berube in Philadelphia, Dave Tippett in Arizona, Claude Julien in Boston, Ted Nolan and Todd McLellan in San Jose. That is not even counting the teams that could lose early in the playoffs, causing ownership to go in a different direction.
Despite the array of head coaching candidates on the market, the Devils should choose an in-house candidate for the job. They are basically trying out both Adam Oates and Scott Stevens for the job. The team has been much better since they were named co-head coach, but there needs to be one going into next season. That one should be Stevens.
For one, this franchise has been built on defense throughout its history, led by guys like Stevens, Scott Niedermayer and Ken Daneyko. They currently have a gluttony of defensive prospects and young guns the team can build around. If they can develop into a great unit, the Devils’ playoff drought will end sooner rather than later. Players like Eric Gelinas, Damon Severson, Jon Merrill, Steve Santini and Adam Larsson need to be the future of this franchise.
Despite playing much better, the team still struggles on offense. They could keep Oates on as an assistant head coach to continue to work with the offense. They have really good pieces in house in Mike Cammalleri, Adam Henrique and Patrik Elias. They obviously need much better top line scoring into 2015-16, but they have a good enough foundation to move forward.
The Devils should move forward with Stevens. He clearly is well liked in the locker room, and the fans love him with all their heart. It is the right decision to make. They don’t have enough forward depth in the system for any coach to make them great, so they need to focus on their young defense. Stevens has proven that he is the right man to take the Devils into their next chapter.
Nick Villano is the New Jersey Devils writer for Rant Sports. He also adds to the site’s NBA, MLB and NFL content. You can follow him on Twitter or add him to your Google circle.
