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Report: Devils have interviewed John Stevens for head coach position |
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Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell
The New Jersey Devils have a massive summer in front of them.
Their roster needs work – a lot of it! – but before they begin with any of that, they need to hire a head coach and a general manager. And they need to get it right.
At the very least, the Devils are doing due diligence to put themselves in the best position to do just that.
A few weeks ago it was reported the search was underway, with Gerard Gallant headlining several candidates interviewed.
The latest name to surface in the race is Dallas Stars’ assistant John Stevens.
This from Elliotte Friedman’s latest edition of 31 Thoughts:
New Jersey interviewed Dallas Stars assistant coach John Stevens for its head coach position, currently held by Alain Nasreddine.
Stevens was an assistant in Los Angeles for many years during their time as a powerhouse in the NHL.
Eventually, he took over for Darryl Sutter as head coach. His debut season in 2017-18 went alright. The Kings won 45 games and finished with a .599 points percentage, accumulating 98 over 82 games. They started slowly in 2018-19, though, and he was axed as a result.
Stevens is currently in his first (and potentially last) season with Dallas. How their year ends remains to be seen but they were one of the better defensive sides in the league, which is encouragingly a common theme for teams Stevens works for.
How much of that should be attributed to Stevens is up for debate but, given how the Devils have defended over the last couple years, it’s not a surprise he has caught the team’s eye.
I certainly don’t think Stevens could be considered a homerun hire considering some of the names out there (Gallant, Bruce Boudreau, etc.). I will say I'd rather give Stevens a shot than run it back with Alain Nasreddine, though.
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