NEWARK, N.J. (AP) – Pete DeBoer, who coached the New Jersey Devils to the Stanley Cup finals in his first season in 2011-12, was fired Friday, with his aging and diminished team in danger of missing the playoffs for a third straight season.
Devils president and general manager Lou Lamoriello would not say who will be the next coach until he speaks Saturday with the players, who are on a three-day Christmas break. The Devils play the Rangers in New York on Saturday.
New Jersey has been hit with injuries in a 12-17-7 season. It has not won consecutive games since early last month, going 3-8-5 in its last 16. The Devils were missing six regulars to either injury or illness Tuesday night when they lost 2-1 in a shootout to the Carolina Hurricanes, the NHL’s second-worst team.
“I know that no one wants to hear excuses and I am not going to make any, but I am definitely not going to throw our guys under the bus,” DeBoer said Tuesday. “Guys are trying.”
The problem is the guys are not as talented as they used to be.