Good luck Peter DeBoer and his press conference was pretty telling for fantasy owners of New Jersey Devils. Some of the things that were said by the new Coach were pretty damning to the Florida Panthers organization so let us be honest.
First off, we want to again thank some of the sources that were quietly high on DeBoer over the month to six weeks. It does seem something out of left field but New Jersey was looking for a younger guy who had some experience. Clearly DeBoer got the max he could out of Florida and if he can do that for New Jersey then fantasy owners as well as Devils fans will be encouraged.
Let’s work on details from the presser first. There is the Lou quote that explains why this makes sense:
“Peter DeBoer is an individual who I have watched coach over the past two decades at the junior, international, and professional levels. His teams have always been well-prepared and disciplined, while maximizing their effort each and every night.” said Lamoriello. “I am looking forward to working with him.”
The word maximizing was used over a half dozen times in the press conference it felt like. There is a vital thing to note here. Some people have DeBoer fired already. Ladies and gentlemen, we will make what seems like an outlandish statement at the time but something that needs to be said. Peter DeBoer will outlast Lou Lamoriello. This may sound insane but the growing feeling is that the General Manager is not long for that role with New Jersey. It seemed a growing sense that a younger coach needed to be brought in as opposed to a Ken Hitchcock or Michel Therrien. Hybrid thinking wins in the NHL today contrary to the disciplinarian that is Claude Julien (Boston Bruins). Even Julien has bent at least a little in the last couple years.
Hybrid coaching helps fantasy owners in the long run because that is usually the type of coaching that delivers the best fantasy results. New Jersey also has the benefit of surviving one of the worst strings of luck in a half season that any team has ever faced (NHL discipline included). The injuries hurt but the malconents damaged the team even more. That killed the fantasy value of pretty much every Devil in the first half of the season. When Jacques Lemaire was brought in, that signaled the end of the Captain in New Jersey who honestly never should have been there to start the season. Anyone who thinks Jamie Langenbrunner still being a Devil at the start of the season was a good thing might as well stick their head in the sand.
So Peter DeBoer inherits a team that no question has some holes but also has some talent that he never saw even in his wildest dreams in Florida. Even the goaltending duo should be solid and though some are viewing the new coach as a yes-man already and setting up pools as to his dismissal, that is premature and classless at worst.
If the New Jersey Devils can stay healthy, there should be some considerable fantasy jumps for owners of these players. Again listen deeper to the press conference sometime and you will get the impression that the Devils will play kind of like how Lemaire had this team last year. They were more hybrid and opportunistic than anyone could see. We will project actual point jumps later in the summer but based on last year’s stats, New Jersey has already improved and for Fantasy GM’s that is awfully good news.
