(Newark) The New Jersey Devils honored former head coach Jacques Lemaire, inducting the 11-time Stanley Cup winner into the team’s Ring of Honor.
Posted at 9:31 p.m.
Allan Kreda
Associated Press
Lemaire, 79, who led the Devils to their first championship in 1995, was celebrated during a pregame ceremony against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night.
He was accompanied at center ice by former players, including goaltender Martin Brodeur as well as defensemen Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer and Larry Robinson.
“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” said Robinson, who was Lemaire’s teammate with the Montreal Canadiens during five Stanley Cup victories, an assistant with the Devils in 1995 and head coach of their second champion team in 2000. We both grew up in a very successful organization in Montreal. »
Lemaire won the Stanley Cup eight times with the Canadiens as a player and two more times as assistant general manager. He was hired by the Devils before the 1993-1994 season, almost a decade after leading the CH for more than one season in the mid-1980s.
The Devils lost in seven games in the East Finals to the New York Rangers in the 1994 playoffs before winning the Cup a year later by sweeping the Detroit Red Wings in four games in the Finals.
-Lemaire said he was excited to see former players as well as Lamoriello, who he still works with. Lamoriello is president of hockey operations for the New York Islanders, where Lemaire serves as an advisor.
Lemaire nodded to Lamoriello during his brief and emotional acceptance speech surrounded by his family.
“All the meetings we had, the hours we spent together talking about the players, the game and everything else, had one goal: to improve the team so we could win a Stanley Cup , Lemaire said after donning a bright red Devils jacket at center ice to mark the occasion.
Lemaire also managed the Minnesota Wild for the organization’s first eight seasons, then returned to the Devils for the 2009-10 season and the second half of the 2010-11 campaign. He finished his head coaching career with 617 victories.
Lemaire emphasized that he certainly doesn’t miss the daily work and stress that comes with being a head coach.
“I haven’t lost a single match since 2011,” he said. So I’m not as worried. »
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