And seven! That's the number of National Hockey League coaches who have fallen by the wayside in the league so far this season. The last in line, Lindy Ruff, who was released by the New Jersey Devils on Monday, was a finalist for the Jack Adams Trophy last year.
• Also read: And the peak is…
For Jacques Lemaire, the title of Coach of the Year was a poisoned chalice. He humorously asked voting journalists from the electronic press to forget his name when voting.
The latter awarded him the Adams Trophy in his first season on the bench of the New Jersey Devils, 1993–1994. Inspired by the outfit of a rookie goalie named Martin Brodeur, the Devils reached the Prince of Wales Association final against the New York Rangers. New York won in overtime in the seventh game. The less young will remember the exuberance of the Rangers scorer, who shouted at the top of his lungs “Matteau, Matteau, Matteau, Matteau, Matteau!” when the Abitibian colossus scored the winning goal in the final game.
The following year, the Devils won the Stanley Cup for the first time. They then missed the playoffs. Then, after two good seasons followed by a quick playoff exit, Lemaire lost his job.
Injuries and unreliable goalkeepers
When Ruff arrived, the context at the Devils was different. The team began a comprehensive rebuild. The first two seasons were difficult. But last year, without us really seeing it coming, the Devils had a 112-point season. Fallers defeated the Rangers in the first round, eliminating them in seven games, and then defeated the Carolina Hurricanes in five games in the next round.
The situation has worsened this season. The absence of defender Dougie Hamilton hurts. Center player Jack Hughes missed ten games.
Finally, the goalkeepers are terrible.
Nico Daws, Akira Schmid and Vitek Vanecek, who is currently nursing an injury, have an efficiency average of under .900. With an overall batting average of .891, they rank second to last in the NHL in this regard. A team can't aim for the Stanley Cup with stats like that.
Nevertheless, general manager Tom Fitzgerald hopes to be able to save the season. Heading into Tuesday's games, the Devils were eight points shy of a playoff spot with 21 games remaining. It will be very difficult, if not impossible, for the Devils to close this gap.
Good luck, Travis Green!
Roy didn't leave the inn
Patrick Roy's Islanders have been doing better for ten days. On Tuesday night, they earned their fourth straight win, defeating the Saint Louis Blues. This meant they came within four points of making it into the playoffs
The defense has strengthened under Roy's leadership, but the offense isn't quite as broken yet.
To be honest, Patrick didn't inherit a great team. The islanders are not young. With an average age of 29.6 years, they are one of the oldest teams in the NHL.
In addition to 24-year-old defender Noah Dobson, the other members of the core team are 26 years old and older. Matthew Barzal will turn 27 in May and Bo Horvat will turn 29 in April. Kyle Palmieri turned 33 in early February and Brock Nelson will reach that age in October.
Starting goalkeeper Ilya Sorokin will celebrate his 29th birthday in August, while his backup goalkeeper Symeon Varlamov will celebrate his 36th birthday in April.
There will be a lot more work to do on the Long Island side soon.
Things are heating up for Keefe
Finally, let’s talk about the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Their 4-1 home loss to the Boston Bruins on Monday is a bad omen for a potential playoff showdown. Frankly, the Toronto team is in a bad place. Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander continue to rack up goals and points, but the team continues to go in circles. For his part, John Tavares is showing signs of slowing down.
The status of Sheldon Keefe, who is set to sign a two-year extension next year, has been called into question more than once this season. If the Leafs stumble again at the start of the playoffs, it might be too much for him.
This is the life of a coach. They are hired to be fired.