After two rather unsuccessful seasons Brent Sutter decided to resign from his coaching duties in New Jersey. More specifically, the Devils were able to clinch the fifth best record during the regular season but could not make it past the first round in the playoffs.
There was a lot speculation about Sutter’s feature who already stated half-way through the season that he might opt for parting ways with the Devils franchise during the summer. In fact, Brent Sutter owns the WHL team the Red Deer Rebels in his hometown in Alberta. Even though the Rebels can hardly be compared to a NHL franchise, they managed to develop various players who became NHL professionals later on in their career, for instance Cam Ward. According to Sutter, the decision to resign was made due to personal reasons involving his family and had very little to do with his experience in New Jersey.
Although the New Jersey Devils were able to post a 97-56-11 record under Brent Sutter, they experienced post-season elimination in the first round in both years. Especially this year’s early playoff exit versus the Hurricanes yielded its fair share of critique since the Devils were already leading the series 3-2 before facing elimination in game seven. Inevitably, Sutter’s decision caused a heated debate about the implications of a coaching staff change in New Jersey, but as far as the Devils’ front office is concerned no drastic changes are imminent. Given the fact that the Devils were able to show during the regular season that they can compete with anyone in the league, it appears to be a reasonable assumption that New Jersey will rather look for minor improvements than for fundamental roster changes.
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