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List of New Jersey Devils head coaches

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Adapted from the English Wikipedia article List of New Jersey Devils head coaches, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 28 November 2025
New Jersey Devils
IndustryIce hockey team
FoundedJune 30, 1982; 44 years ago (1982-06-30)
Headquarters
Newark
,
United States

This article presents a comprehensive catalog of head coaches for the New Jersey Devils. Since the franchise's move to New Jersey in the 1982–83 campaign, a total of 20 individuals have held the head coaching position. Among them, Jacques Lemaire uniquely served three separate terms, whereas Tom McVie, Larry Robinson, and Lou Lamoriello each had two tenures.

Only three coaches have led the team to Stanley Cup triumphs: Lemaire in 1995, Robinson in 2000, and Pat Burns in the 2003 postseason. Lemaire holds the franchise records for both most games coached and most victories, while Burns boasts the highest winning percentage among those who coached full seasons.

Several former Devils players transitioned into coaching roles. Notably, both John MacLean and Bobby Carpenter earned recognition on the Stanley Cup as players and later as coaches with New Jersey. MacLean remains the sole ex-player to have been appointed head coach of the Devils.

Following the dismissal of Peter DeBoer on December 26, 2014, the organization named co-coaches Adam Oates and Scott Stevens to lead the team through the remainder of the 2014–15 season, with Lamoriello managing bench duties.

Key

# Number of head coaches
GC Total games coached
W Number of wins
L Number of losses
T Ties (discontinued post-2005–06 NHL season)
OTL Losses in overtime (including shootout losses after 2005–06 NHL season)
Pts Points accumulated
Win% Winning percentage
§ Names inscribed on the Stanley Cup

Coaches

Note: This list excludes data from the franchise's previous incarnations as the Kansas City Scouts and Colorado Rockies. All statistics are updated through the conclusion of the 2023–24 NHL season.

# Coach Tenure Regular Season Playoffs Notable Achievements Reference
GC W L T OTL Pts Win% GC W L
1 Bill MacMillan June 30, 1982 – November 22, 1983 100 19 67 14 — 52 .260 — — —
2 Tom McVie November 22, 1983 – May 31, 1984 60 15 38 7 — 37 .308 — — —
3 Doug Carpenter May 31, 1984 – January 26, 1988 290 100 166 24 — 224 .386 — — —
4 Jim Schoenfeld January 26, 1988 – November 6, 1989 124 50 59 15 — 115 .464 20 11 9
5 John Cunniff November 6, 1989 – March 4, 1991 133 59 56 18 — 136 .511 6 2 4
- Tom McVie March 4, 1991 – June 5, 1992 93 42 36 15 — 99 .532 14 6 8
6 Herb Brooks June 5, 1992 – May 31, 1993 84 40 37 7 — 87 .518 5 1 4
7 Jacques Lemaire§ June 28, 1993 – May 8, 1998 378 199 122 57 — 455 .602 56 34 22
8 Robbie Ftorek May 21, 1998 – March 23, 2000 156 88 44 19 5 200 .625 7 3 4
9 Larry Robinson§ March 23, 2000 – January 28, 2002 141 73 43 19 6 171 .606 48 31 Stanley Cup champion (2000) |
10 Kevin Constantine January 28, 2002 – June 13, 2002 31 20 8 2 1 43 .677 6 2 4
11 Pat Burns§ June 13, 2002 – July 14, 2005 164 89 45 22 8 208 .634 29 17 Stanley Cup champion (2003) |
- Larry Robinson July 14, 2005 – December 19, 2005 32 14 13 — 5 33 .516 — — —
12 Lou Lamoriello December 19, 2005 – May 14, 2006 50 32 14 — 4 68 .680 9 5 4
13 Claude Julien June 13, 2006 – April 2, 2007 79 47 24 — 8 102 .646 — —  
- Lou Lamoriello April 2, 2007 – July 12, 2007 3   2    0    —    1    5    .833    11    5    6   
14 Brent Sutter July 12, 2007 – June 10, 2009 164    97    56    —    11    205    .625    12    4    8   
- Jacques Lemaire July 13, 2009 – April 26, 2010 82      48      27      —      7      103      .628      5      1      4     
15 John Maclean June 17, 2010 – December 23, 2010 33                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Notes

  1. The winning percentage is determined by the formula: <math>\frac{Wins+\frac{1}{2}Ties}{Games}</math>
  2. The Devils officially relocated from Colorado to New Jersey on June 30, 1982, which signified the commencement of their coaching history.
  3. During the 1988 Stanley Cup playoffs, Schoenfeld received a one-game suspension for verbally abusing referee Don Koharski; as a result, GM Lou Lamoriello took over coaching duties during the Devils' 7–1 defeat against Boston.
  4. Despite being replaced midway through the 1999–2000 season, Ftorek’s name was engraved on the Stanley Cup following the Devils' championship that year.
  5. Robinson was reassigned during the 2001–02 campaign but still had his name inscribed on the Cup when the Devils won in 2002–03, even though he had departed before that season started.
  6. Pat Burns stepped down due to a cancer diagnosis.
  7. Larry Robinson resigned, attributing his departure to health concerns related to stress.
  8. Claude Julien was dismissed with only three games left in the 2006–07 regular season.
  9. Brent Sutter exited two years into a three-year agreement to be nearer to family and his minor league team in Alberta. Soon after, he accepted the head coaching role with the Calgary Flames; although Calgary sought permission to negotiate, the Devils did not receive any form of compensation.

External links

Related profiles

LList of New Jersey Devils general managersLList of New Jersey Devils draft picksLList of New Jersey Devils playersLList of New Jersey Devils seasons
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