At that time the Devils were in the beginning stages of their horrendous 9-22-2 start. New Jersey - much like the Ducks this season - hit rock bottom before finally dismissing head coach John Maclean, replacing him with Jacques Lemaire. Under Lemaire's...

That includes a sudden surge up the conference standings following a change in coaches. The Devils were 9-22-2 and sitting in last place in the Eastern Conference by the time December rolled around last season, when general manager Lou Lamoriello rang...

Pelley spent his entire NHL career with the Devils before he was traded to the Ducks with defenseman Mark Fraser in the Dec. 12 deal for Kurtis Foster. So coming back to Newark was familiar. But Pelley also was a member of the Devils team which staged a...

Pelley, who will face the Devils tonight for the first time since his Dec. 12 trade to Anaheim, said seasons are eerily similar to the point that he’s pondered whether Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau has been talking to Jacques Lemaire. “It’s kind of...

Many of the players had credited Lemaire with the team’s second-half turnaround and made it no secret that they wanted him to come back for another season. It appeared it would be a tough order for whoever followed Lemaire to get the players to follow...

He paused for a moment. Dead-puck era, he asked? Yes, answered his interrogator. Dead-puck. You know. No goals. No offence. Neutral zone clogged like a fat guy's arteries. Jacques Lemaire. Oh, said the Canucks winger. Right. He then launched into an...