By Justin Worsley,
New Jersey Devils head coach Jacques Lemaire told the Newark Star-Ledger on Wednesday that he will not return to the team next season.
Lemaire, 65, retired last April after the Devils lost in the opening round of the playoffs to eventual Stanley Cup finalist Philadelphia.
After his retirement, the Devils hired John MacLean to take over as head coach. New Jersey, however, struggled to score and found themselves in last place in the Eastern Conference. MacLean was fired after 33 games and Lemaire returned to the bench.
Lemaire has led the Devils to a 7-7-1 record after a 9-22-2 start, including a current 6-0-1 record in their last seven games. New Jersey is scoring 2.7 goals per game under Lemaire, almost a one-goal increase from when MacLean was the head coach.
Winger Ilya Kovalchuk has also seemed to find his groove lately, scoring eight points during the Devils win streak. In the previous 41 games, the Russian Sniper only had 21 points.
Despite the team's recent success, New Jersey is still in last place in the NHL with only 35 points, however, they are now only two points behind the New York Islanders. The Devils are also still last in the league with only 2.0 goals per game.
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