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The New Jersey Devils will have their hands full in the coming months.
On top of exploring any and all avenues for much needed roster improvements – and preparing for an ultra busy draft – the organization will be faced with important decisions in the front office and behind the bench.
They must determine whether to keep current occupants in place – Tom Fitzgerald at GM, Alain Nasreddine behind the bench – or to replace them with external candidates.
Before such decisions can be made, the Devils have to explore what’s out there. They’ve started that process,
as Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reported several head coaching candidates have been interviewed.
Headlining the group is Gerard Gallant, most recently of the Vegas Golden Knights.
While not my top choice (I might be Bruce Boudreau’s biggest fan), Gallant is high on my list. I think I speak for everyone when I say Gallant coaching the Devils in 2020-21 would be a welcomed sight.
His teams are known for playing hard, playing fast, playing with freedom – Gallant is not one to bench a skill player for a mistake – and, well, they generally get results.
Gallant coached for parts of three seasons in Florida. He posted a rock solid 96-65-25 record, which is impressive considering he hardly had powerhouse rosters to work with.
He followed that up by taking an expansion team to the Stanley Cup in its inaugural season. Gallant was 118-75-20 behind the bench in Vegas prior to being relieved of his duties.
That’s a 214-140-45 record on aggregate. That's very strong given he was running the ship for a small market team and an expansion franchise.
I think Gallant is a top coaching option and, with all due respect, would be a clear upgrade on Nasreddine.
The Devils went a respectable 19-16-8 under Nasreddine but they needed all-world goaltending on a consistent basis to do it. That’s no exaggeration; the Devils ranked dead last in attempts against and chances against per 60. If not for Blackwood, the Devils would probably be entering the lottery with the 2nd best odds of winning top pick.
Whether anything comes of Gallant’s interview remains to be seen but the apparent interest from the Devils is refreshing.
If he could take a bunch of outcasts, so to speak, to the Stanley Cup in Vegas, it’s exciting to think about what he could accomplish in New Jersey.
He’d have a promising young core – headlined by Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, and Mackenzie Blackwood – to groom and a GM with a ton of toys to play with (cap space, insane draft capital, etc.).
I think this ship could turn around rather quickly with the right people in charge. Gallant certainly classifies.
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