Oates has notified GM Ray Shero that he will not return to the bench as an assistant under newly appointed head coach John Hynes, according to TSN's Darren Dreger
Dreger noted that former Devils coach Pete DeBoer is interested in bringing Oates on as an assistant in San Jose and that it shouldn't be a surprise if Oates lands there.
As you may recall Oates was one of the many coaches that interviewed for San Jose's head coaching position. He obviously didn't get it but with DeBoer now the head guy in San Jose, and Larry Robinson still with the organization, reuniting on the west coast is surely an attractive proposition for Oates.
Oates had made it clear that he wanted to become a head coach again and probably wasn't thrilled that he was never a serious candidate for the job of the team he was already working for.
Oates has done good work in the past while running power plays, however, I personally wasn't a fan of how he utilized New Jersey's forward group in the 2nd half of the season.
I think the Devils would be best off allowing Hynes to build his own staff and it appears Shero will give him the opportunity to do so.
New Jersey Devils Blogger • 
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