Dave Barr joins New Jersey Devils coaching staff as assistant coach –NHL offseason Update
After the end of 2010-2011 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season, New Jersey faced heavy criticism for not having hired a new head coach after Jacques Lemaire retired following Devils not reaching the playoffs for the first time in nearly 15 years
as a franchise.
New Jersey President and General Manager, Lou Lamoriello, signalled a new signing before the start of the new season in October, but hired Peter DeBoer as a head coach, much earlier than expected.
In a quick hiring process, New Jersey management completed the coaching staff by hiring Dave Barr on Friday, July 29, as the teams’ new assistant coach behind DeBoer and along with already present assistant coaches, Larry Robinson and Adam Oates.
With over 16 years of experience with the game of ice hockey, Barr brings along with him a lot which he can give to the Eastern Conference team, a trait which was certainly recognised by GM Lamoriello when he made the announcement.
“Dave Barr has had a successful post-playing career for 16 years on many levels in the IHL, AHL, OHL, and NHL”, said Lamoriello. “We were fortunate to have him as a player in New Jersey for two years, and look forward to have him joining us as a member of
our coaching staff”.
At 50-years-old, Barr holds experience from various organizations such as the International Hockey League (IHL), American Hockey League (AHL) and Ontario Hockey League (OHL), along with his most recent experience with the NHL as he remained assistant coach
for Minnesota Wild for the past two seasons.
Before joining the NHL with Minnesota, Dave Barr remained GM and head coach of the Guelph franchise in the OHL and won the Matt Leyden Trophy during the 2005-2006 season for the best coach in the minor league.
Getting associated with the teams’ already active and prospective assistant coaches is something Peter DeBoer has already done, which will save him from adjusting to a new environment.
“Pete sat down with all the assistants from last year and everything was 100 percent positive. If he wasn’t 100 percent comfortable with any of them, they would not have been brought back”, added GM Lamoriello.
New Jersey has a window of opportunity ahead of the next season, which will certainly be exciting to see how their new additions play out.
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