Devils interviewing candidates for coaching job, GM says

The New Jersey Devils are interviewing coaching candidates, and coach Alain Nasreddine is among them, general manager Tom Fitzgerald said.

"I'm not going to sit here and hide and say that's not what is going on," Fitzgerald said Thursday. "There's been a process that has been ongoing for quite some time that has involved talking to other candidates, and Alain has put himself in that situation too. He's deserved the right to talk to me as the interim general manager, talk to our presidents, CEOs and our ownership group, on selling himself on why he should be able to keep this job."

Fitzgerald said nothing has changed since the end of the season with regard to his position as GM or Nasreddine's as coach, although the Devils have conducted interviews for the coaching job, including with Gerard Gallant in mid-April, The Athletic reported. Gallant was fired by the Vegas Golden Knights on Jan. 15.

"I think 'Nas' has done a remarkable job for somebody who's never been a head coach," said Fitzgerald, who became general manager when Ray Shero was fired Jan. 12. "Someone who had this position thrusted on him. To be honest, if he wasn't going to accept it, I probably would have had to go behind the bench for a little bit. But he accepted that challenge."

The Devils were 9-13-4 and next-to-last in the Eastern Conference when Nasreddine replaced John Hynes as coach Dec. 3. They were 23rd in the NHL on the penalty kill (76.5 percent) and 28th on the power play (13.4 percent). New Jersey went 19-16-8, was No. 1 on the penalty kill (86.0 percent) and was tied for 15th on the power play (21.2 percent) after Nasreddine took over.

"I think the players appreciated assistant coach Nasreddine who became a head coach," Fitzgerald said. "He was different than [Hynes], no different than [Shero] and I being different, but were good complements. I think 'Nas' has grown in a lot of areas and he's put himself in a good situation to continue to talk to our people, talk to the owners and myself about continuing on as the head coach."

Goalie Cory Schneider said he would like to see Nasreddine remain with the team.

"I enjoy playing under him and we had a great relationship," Schneider said Wednesday. "It's a tough business, so who knows what direction [the Devils are] going to go, but I really hope that 'Nas' will be here. If not as head coach, still part of the coaching staff, because he's a valuable asset.

"I think he'll get an opportunity whether it's here or somewhere else to be a head coach because I think he's got a lot of characteristics you're looking for in today's game."

The Devils were not among the 24 teams in the NHL Return to Play Plan who will compete for the Stanley Cup. New Jersey has the sixth-best odds to win the NHL Draft Lottery (6.5 percent), to be held June 26, and get the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.

Nasreddine has said he is preparing as if he will return next season.

"He's a detailed guy, can adjust and adapt to situations," Devils forward Travis Zajac said Wednesday. "I think it's tough getting thrown into the head coaching job like he did, and he did a tremendous job. I think you saw by the end of the year we were playing better as a team, we were winning some games against some very good hockey teams and starting to win close games or coming back from being down ... so all positive signs, and I think he had a big role."

The Devils defeated the Washington Capitals, who were tied for first place in the Metropolitan Division at the time, 3-2 on Feb. 22, and defeated the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues (4-2) and New York Rangers (6-4) on March 6-7.

"There was a lot of negativity ... his longtime friend and mentor (Hynes) just got let go, so that could have gone a lot of different ways, but I think 'Nas' was prepared for the moment and he has his own style," Schneider said. "He's a tremendous worker, he's a smart coach and he commands respect, but does it his own way, which I think a lot of guys respond well to."