The New Jersey Devils brought back a piece of their past Monday, hiring Jacques Lemaire as their new coach.
Lemaire, 63, previously coached the Devils from 1993-98, and guided the team to its first Stanley Cup in 1995. He remains the franchise's all-time leader in games coached (378) and victories (199). He is 540-414-177 for his career having also coached the Montreal Canadiens.
He was 199-122-57 during his time in New Jersey in the mid-1990s and led the Devils to the playoffs in four of his five seasons. They swept the Detroit Red Wings in the 1995 Stanley Cup Final. The Devils also lost to the New York Rangers in the 1994 Eastern Conference Final.
Lemaire replaces Brent Sutter, who stepped down last month citing family reasons. He has since become the head coach of the Calgary Flames.
Lemaire had been coach of the Minnesota Wild for the past nine years. He resigned as Wild coach after the regular season.
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