Lou as coach

Last season when Lou went behind the bench to coach I had my concerns because of his inexperience behind the bench at the NHL level. This season when it was announced that Julien had been fired and Lou was going back behind the bench, it obviously caught me off-guard but also made me wonder if Lou was the right person again. But I likely would have thought that regardless of who they would have put there because of it being so close to the playoffs. At the time I thought it was the right decision to replace Julien because as the season went on you could tell that he simply was not going to work out.

But you know what, I thought Lou did a great job in the Tampa series. It's something that hasn't been brought up, but IMO Lou, John Maclean and Jacques Laperriere out coached Tortorella. I like how the bench is run with the 3 of them and right now I am very comfortable with Lou as head coach. I know it likely won't happen, but I would have no problem with Lou returning next season as coach.

Louuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu:)

i find hes great behind the bench, u always see him talking to the players, sometimes he laughs with gomez.
Something i never saw Claude do.

MacLean and Laperriere basically control the players during the game, but yeah, Lou is good

ON XM204 today, Eklund said how EVERY media person was rooting against NJ simply to watch Lou (and his decision to fire Julien) fail.

They can keep rooting. :)

MacLean and Laperriere basically control the players during the game, but yeah, Lou is goodPierre McGuire said during the telecast today that that is pretty common in the NHL. They are basically like offensive and defensive coordinators in football.

We had to adjust our playing style to beat this team, something Julien would never have done. I feel, now that it is over, looking back, we would have lost this series if Julien was still coaching.

likewise, as shown in a lot of the 5th game and the final game (and to most of the posters here's delight) the offence opened up and hence we won both, i feel julian would have just kept telling the team keep trapping and wait, that style made us 1-2 in the 1st part of the series

We had to adjust our playing style to beat this team, something Julien would never have done. I feel, now that it is over, looking back, we would have lost this series if Julien was still coaching.

I was thinking about this too and tend to agree. Julien would have definitely not adjusted the playing style.

Would the team have played better defensive hockey in the first few games with Julien so it wouldn't need adjusting? Maybe.

But I feel much more comfortable with a coaching staff that isn't afraid to make adjustments when needed.

ON XM204 today, Eklund said how EVERY media person was rooting against NJ simply to watch Lou (and his decision to fire Julien) fail.


and EVERY Devil-hater that posts on all the other HF Forums, especially Habs fans crying crocodile tears and wanting Julien to be a Jack Adams candidate. :sarcasm:

likewise, as shown in a lot of the 5th game and the final game (and to most of the posters here's delight) the offence opened up and hence we won both, i feel julian would have just kept telling the team keep trapping and wait, that style made us 1-2 in the 1st part of the series

Don't forget the offense in Game 1.

i actually wanted lou off the bench after game 3. shame on me. :(