BLOG: Fitzgerald Gives Devils Coaching Staff Updates

Devils General Manager Tom Fitzgerald gave some updates on the Devils coaching staff when he spoke to media ahead of the NHL Draft.
Fitzgerald confirmed that Alain Nasreddine will remain on staff as an Assistant Coach. Nasreddine served as the Interim Head Coach from December 2019 until the hiring of Head Coach Lindy Ruff in July 2020.
"He's very excited about [returning] as are we. When you can keep a young talent like Alain, who did a good job with our group, tough situation, but he handled it well, learned a lot. [He] grew as a coach, young head coach. I think he's very excited about the opportunity to work with Lindy Ruff," said Fitzgerald. "We're excited about Alain coming back. He takes a lot of pride in growing our young [defense], he takes a lot of pride in working with the penalty kill, and we're excited to have him."

Currently the coaching staff consists of Head Coach Lindy Ruff, newly hired Assistant Coach Mark Recchi, and returning Assistant Coach Alain Nasreddine. Fitzgerald discussed the other vacancies on the coaching staff.
"We're going through a goaltending coach search. We have to add a third coach, a 'eye in the sky' kind of guy. I think Lindy's narrowed it down. I think he's going to be comfortable with a person, I just like to sit down and talk with him and then go from there. There's no rush especially with the draft and free agency coming up. But I don't think the decision will take much longer."
When asked about Mike Grier's status, Fitzgerald said the former Assistant Coach is not returning.
"He was offered to come back, we would have loved to have him come back," said Fitzgerald. "He plans on staying home…he's got young kids, he wants to be around and be a dad. If something comes up that gives him the opportunity to grow more with more responsibilities than we could have offered him then he'll consider that. But he was offered a spot to come back."