New Jersey Devils Make Serious Cuts to Their Coaching Staff

The New Jersey Devils issued the following statement on Assistant Coaches Mark Recchi & Alain Nasreddine:

A rather unsurprising turn of events, as the Devils have been near league bottom the past few seasons. Recchi primarily worked with the team's forward group & powerplay. In two seasons under Recchi's watch, the Devils powerplay has been atrocious both anecdotally & analytically. All things considered, it was one of the worst in the NHL under Mark Recchi, and I don't think it was a personnel issue.

Players like Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Jack Hughes, & Dougie Hamilton are more than enough to score 5v4. In fact, the Devils score at an above-average rate 5v5, so the lack of powerplay success is extremely alarming.

Alain Nasreddine, on the other hand, was charged with the Devils penalty kill & defense. The Devils' PK was actually solid this season at 14th in the NHL. Even more impressive is the fact that the Devils maintained such success with league-worst goaltending in 2021-22. Nasreddine was ultimately a victim of awful goaltending & bad timing. If his contract wasn't expired, he probably would still be behind the Devils' bench.

The search for Recchi & Nasreddine's replacements is underway, per GM Tom Fitzgerald. The Devils will need a significant step forward this upcoming season, or Lindy Ruff will follow his assistants to the unemployment line.

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