Rumor: Frontrunner emerges in New Jersey Devils coaching search.

Devils have a leading candidate.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 3 years ago
Rumor: Frontrunner emerges in New Jersey Devils coaching search.
Jim McIsaac/Getty

The New Jersey Devils have reportedly been in the middle of a search for a new general manager for several weeks now, but although we seem no closer to a new general manager being hired there is already talk that the team may have found its next head coach. That is of course an unusual situation however the news come from a very reliable source, National Hockey League insider Larry Brooks of the New York Post.

In a recent article for the Post the Rangers afficiennado revealed that, funnily enough, former Nashville Predators head coach Peter Laviolette had become the leading candidate for the job. Now it may simply be that Laviolette is the best man available for the job, a situation that is rather amusing given that Laviolette was only recently fired by the Predators who then in turn hired John Haynes as their head coach, a man that had just recently been fired by the aforementioned New Jersey Devils. 

From Brooks:

It’s under these conditions that the organization may hire a coach to replace interim man Alain Nasreddine, with Peter Laviolette having emerged as the leading contender, before settling on a permanent general manager.

Some of the uncertainty here seems to stem from the fact that no one really knows who will have the final say in New Jersey given the confusing organizational structure the team has. As of right now the team, lead by owners  Josh Harris and David Blitzer have been splitting the task of interviewing potential candidates for both coaching and general manager positions according to Brooks and that likely also includes involvement from CEO in Scott O’Neil and a president named Jake Reynolds.

The Nashville Predators clearly have more raw talent than the Devils at this point in their respective trajectories, so it will be interesting to see how both Laviolette and Hynes can fill each others shoes.

Source: