Jacques Lemaire Sundays Stan

The Summer of 1996 was not a fun time in Devilsland.
Glum was the word that best describes a feeling shared by owner Dr. John McMullen, general manager Lou Lamoriello and coach Jacques Lemaire.
"We expected more than we got," snapped Lemaire. "To come off the Stanley Cup win in 1995 and then to not make the playoffs the following spring was unacceptable."
Lemaire's annoyance was shared by captain Scott Stevens and specifically a comment made by his coach.
Analyzing his team's failure to make the postseason, Lemaire cited "a lack of leadership" as a primary reason for the club's sorry finish.

Stevens personalized the observation and took it to heart. He believed that Lemaire was indicting his captain and Scott hardly relished the thought.
A peace parley was held and a truce evolved when Lemaire pointed out that he was referring to the entireteam, himself included.
If that wasn't distracting enough, hard-nosed center Bobby Holik missed the opening of training camp and Lamoriello executed a major trade.
Stephane Richer, who'd been so instrumental leading the Devils' 1995 Stanley Cup crusade, was dealt to Montreal. In return, New Jersey obtained hard-nosed defenseman Lyle Odelein.
"We feel we're primed for a rebound season," said forward Bill Guerin, who also had starred in the Cup run. "The ingredients are all here."
They certainly looked good on paper.
Martin Brodeur, more mature and confident than ever, was back in goal. The Montreal native was reaching his peak and ranked among the NHL's top puckstoppers.
On defense, captain Stevens along with Scott Niedermayer led a backline brigade which was bolstered by the Odelein acquisition and the fact that Ken Daneyko had become one of the foundations of Lemaire's blue line corps.
"Everything was beginning to shape up the way we hoped it would," Dano insisted. "We're a stronger team than we were last season."
That certainly was true because towering Dave Andreychuk would be starting his first full season with the attacking corps.
"Dave is one of the best two-way players in the league," added Lemaire. "He'll get goals we weren't getting last year."
Jacques also would get plenty of red lights thanks to John MacLean, well-remembered as the hero of New Jersey's 1988 playoff run.
And, yes, there would be bushels of goals despite what critics incorrectly labeled Lemaire's stifling "Trap" system.
"They can call it what they want," countered Jacques, "we'll stress defense, but it won't be at the expense of the attack. You'll see."
Call Lemaire prophetic, call him what you will but The Man was right. The club's goals-for mark was 231 with only 182 against. A dozen shutouts - tops in the NHL - complimented the league-best penalty-killing and New Jersey took the fewest penalties.
By early December 1996, it was evident throughout the NHL that the Devils were enjoying a resurrection up and down the line. Just before Christmas - in a game against Buffalo - they produced a lifetime classic.
Brodeur and his opposite on the Sabres, Dominick Hasek, each produced 37 saves in what ended in a 0-0 tie.
For many it was reminiscent of a Buffalo-New Jersey playoff game in 1994 when Marty and Dom dueled through four overtime periods before the Sabres finally won.
"When we got to the third period," Brodeur revealed, "I started to think about that long overtime playoff and now I'm facing the same guy. The good news this time is that we only had one five-minute overtime to worry about, not four."
Leo Scaglione, Jr., now a member of the MSG Networks TV crew, attended that scoreless gem. "That was a show to behold," said Leo, "and also provided the perfect reply to people who said games without goals are boring. Far from it!"
Meanwhile, the Devils emerged with a seven-game unbeaten streak. Their vow to erase the memory of 1995-96 with a classy rebound was being fulfilled.
When the dust had cleared from the regular season New Jersey sat atop the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference. Their arithmetic said it all - 45-23-14.
MacLean and Guerin tied for the club's goal-scoring lead with 29 while Holik was the assist leader (39) and points (62).
The only downer - and it was a biggie - occurred in a late season game against Philly. An accidental behind-the-net collision left Andreychuk with a fractured ankle. In addition to his solid season, Andy also was the team's plus-minus leader.
Lemaire's skaters opened the playoffs against a Montreal team with ample scoring threats, a modest defense and questionable goaltending. The Habs were clearly overmatched in Game 1 as the Devs rolled up the score to 4-2.
What followed was historic.
Brodeur always salivated at the chance of scoring a goal, but nobody could have imagined that it would happen in a playoff game.
The Habs pulled Jocelyn Thibault for the extra attacker but a sorry dump-in set the scene for Brodeur's chance; nor did he waste the opportunity. He pulled the puck close to him behind the Devils net and winged it down the middle of the ice.
The flying puck hit the ice just past the center red line and skidded harmlessly into the open net. Brodeur was ecstatic and jumped up and down like a 6-year-old scoring for the first time.
What made the goal that much sweeter for Marty was that it came against the team Brodeur had grown up watching with his father, Denis. Plus, his goal set the stage for New Jersey's domination of the Habs.
It was made to order for the disciplined Devils. Brodeur thoroughly outplayed Thibault over three games, forcing the Canadiens to bench Thibault in favor of Jose Theodore who beat Brodeur in a stirring Game 4 that lasted into a third sudden-death period.
Despite Theodore, the Devils wrapped up the series at home and prepared for Round Two.
This time it was another Battle of the Hudson - Devils vs. Rangers. Although New Jersey had a better record than New York, the Devils had never ever beaten the Rangers in a playoff series. And it wasn't going to happen this time either.
Although the Garden Staters won the opener, 2-0, the Blueshirts rebounded with three straight victories. Game Five of the series was a Grade A heartbreaker for Devils fans.
Falling behind, 1-0, the Devils rallied with a third period Brian Rolston goal to send the game into overtime.
The teams played evenly for the first dozen minutes of the sudden-death and all indications suggested a game that this contest might rival the double-overtime classic of 1994 when Stephane Matteau beat Brodeur.
But this time, any similarity between 1994 and 1997 was the manner in which the Visitors sealed the series. The play seemed innocuous at first as the Rangers gritty forward Adam Graves moved behind the New Jersey net, skating from left to right.
Working the game for SportsChannel, I happened to be up at the glass with a perfect view of the action. What made the play seem stoppable was that the usually reliable Scott Stevens appeared to have Graves well checked.
But Graves sufficiently shielded the puck to retain possession. As Stevens lunged to disrupt the rush, Graves swung free and emerged from the other side and wrapped it past Brodeur in a manner that reminded Devils fans of the 1994 Matteau goal.
No question, it was a stunning defeat but Lamoriello and Lemaire could take solace in the fact that they had rebuilt their machine and it would prove to be an elite team for years to come.
But, perfectionist as he was - still is - Lamoriello made it clear that his objective was not reached.
"No matter the season," Lou concluded, "our ultimate goal is winning the Stanley Cup."
A year later he will feature a roster that looked very much like it would fulfill the boss's wish!