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Devils Name Scott Stevens and Matt Shaw Assistant Coaches, My Thoughts

July 18, 2012, 11:38 AM ET [26 Comments]
Todd Cordell
New Jersey Devils Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
New Jersey Devils President and General Manager Lou Lamoriello said Monday that he anticipated the coaching staff being filled out this week, and yesterday it was. Here are my thoughts on the Devils new assistant coaches.

- On Matt Shaw, I love the hiring. He has run the San Jose Sharks powerplay the last three seasons and the worst it has finished was 4th in the NHL. The best the Devils powerplay has been ranked over that same time period is 11th so Shaw should provide an upgrade in this aspect of the game. Sure Shaw had Joe Thornton, Dan Boyle, etc. to work with but it's not as though the Devils don't have any talent. Do I expect a top five powerplay from the Devils this year? No, but I think a top 10-12 powerplay would be a reasonable expectation.

Here's a closer look at how Shaw's powerplay units have ranked over his three years in San Jose:

2009-10: 21%, 4th ranked
2010-11: 23.5%, 2nd ranked
2011-12: 21.1%, 2nd ranked

Shaw also helped run the forwards in San Jose, like Adam Oates did in New Jersey. There have been rumblings out there stating that Shaw will be watching from above, but Shaw told the media yesterday during conference call that Pete DeBoer hasn't decided if Shaw will be on the bench or not. Personally I think it would make sense if he did, but Dave Barr wasn't on the bench last year and his penalty killing unit ranked 1st in the NHL.

Many have asked for my thoughts on the Shaw hiring. Personally, I really like it. He has almost 20 years of coaching experience, which was one of the reasons he landed this job according to Lamoriello, and has run an extremely successful powerplay in San Jose the last few years.

He also worked with Jacques Lemaire in the past and Lemaire reportedly put in a good word for him in conversations with Lamoriello. In case you don't know or forgot, Lemaire works with the Devils in a special advisory role.

- Now on to Scott Stevens. I don't know how you can dislike the hiring. Between working as a special assistant and playing, he has 22 years of NHL experience. He's a Hall of Fame defenseman and he is loaded with knowledge. Young defenseman such as Adam Larsson and Mark Fayne as well as up and coming defense prospects such as Eric Gelinas, Jon Merrill, Alex Urbom, etc. can and will learn a lot from Stevens. Wait let me correct that, all defenseman will learn from Stevens. He's knowledgeable, passionate and with his credentials any player will be all ears when he's talking.

By the way, I listed guys like Gelinas because Stevens has been and will continue to help out at development camp on top of the NHL training camp.

Stevens is obviously Larry Robinson's replacement and he will coach up the defense.

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