The Devils' most recent and much anticipated head coach search is finally over.
The Devils and general manager Lou Lamoriello announced on Tuesday that Peter DeBoer would become the new head coach, NHL.com reports. DeBoer will become the franchise's 21st head coach, and he will be replacing Jacques Lemaire, who retired at the end of the 2010-11 season.
DeBoer was fired by the Florida Panthers on June 1 after coaching the team since 2008-09. Prior to his coaching stint with Florida, DeBoer coached a few different teams in the Ontario Hockey League, including the Memorial Cup-winning Kitchener Rangers, whom current Devils forward David Clarkson played for.
"I've known and watched Peter for many years in junior … known people and the players he's worked with and watched him in Florida the last three years," Lamoriello said. "He's technically as sound as anyone out there, he's disciplined and he works at it. In my mind, he is an outstanding coach."
The Panthers failed to make the playoffs in all three seasons when DeBoer was coaching, but the Panthers came very close in 2008-09 — they finished with the same number of points as the Canadiens, who secured the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
