Peter DeBoer has become the third NHL head coach to be fired during the 2014-15 season.
TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports the New Jersey Devils have parted ways with DeBoer, who helped lead the team on an improbable run to the 2012 Stanley Cup Final, where they lost in six games to the Los Angeles Kings.
DeBoer finishes his Devils tenure with a record of 114-93-41. New Jersey missed the playoffs in 2012-13 and 2013-14, and the club appears headed for another season without postseason hockey. The Devils are 12-17-7 and sit in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division. They rank 29th in goals scored per game and 19th in goals against average.
The team’s poor performance isn’t all DeBoer’s fault. He was given a roster made up of several veterans past the age of 30 who are well beyond the prime of their careers. In fact, New Jersey is the oldest team in the league.
The Devils also lost superstar wingers Zach Parise (free agency) and Ilya Kovalchuk (retirement) soon after the 2012 playoffs.
New Jersey hasn’t drafted well since the 2004-05 lockout, either. Forward Adam Henrique and defensemen Mark Fayne and Damon Severson are among a select few quality draft picks made by the Devils in that span.
Thumbnail photo via Ed Mulholland/USA TODAY Sports Images
