Jacques Lemaire

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Position Forward
Height
Weight
5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
180 lb (82 kg/12 st 12 lb)
Pro clubs Montreal Canadiens
Nationality Flag of Canada Canada
Born September 7, 1945 (1945-09-07) (age 62),
Lasalle, PQ, CAN
Pro career 1967 – 1979
Hall of Fame, 1984

Jacques Gerard Lemaire (born September 7, 1945 in Lasalle, Quebec) is a former ice hockey forward and current coach of the Minnesota Wild in the National Hockey League.

Contents

[edit] Career

[edit] Playing career

Playing his entire NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens, Lemaire won theStanley Cup a remarkable eight times 1968, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979. He is one of only five players to have scored two Stanley Cup winning goals. A model of consistency, Lemaire scored at least 20 goals in each of his 12 seasons. He retired from the NHL after the 1978–79 season. In 853 career NHL games, he recorded 366 goals and 469 assists for a total of 835 points.

He also won two more Stanley Cups as assistant general manager with Montreal in 1986 and 1993.

[edit] Coaching career

After retiring as a player in 1979, Lemaire traveled to Switzerland to begin a career in coaching. Lemaire was head coach of the Canadiens from 1983-1985 and the New Jersey Devils from 1993 to 1998, winning the Stanley Cup in 1995 for 11th time, and the Jack Adams Award in 1994 and 2003. Lemaire has been head coach of the Minnesota Wild since June 19, 2000, the first ever (and only) head coach of the organization.

Lemaire is known to be an unorthodox NHL Hockey coach for several reasons. First, he plays a defensive-minded hockey system often using a strategy called the neutral zone trap,[1] or a variant of the trap. Second, Lemaire rarely posts permanent lines and is known to shift players up and down lines, often within games. Moreover, unique to NHL teams, the Wild under Lemaire's tenure has never named a permanent team captain, choosing instead to rotate the captaincy between players on a month-to-month basis.

Lemaire is also known to be one of the best coaches for working with and meshing both young players and veterans. He spends much time in evolving young rookies to reach potential and demands adaptation from veterans to perfect his hockey system.

Lemaire is the uncle of Boston Bruins goaltender and former Wild player, Manny Fernandez.

[edit] Coaching Record

Team Year Regular Season Post Season
G W L T OTL Pts Finish Result
MTL 1983–84 17 7 10 0 - (75) 4th in Adams Lost in Conf. Champ
MTL 1984–85 82 41 27 12 - 94 1st in Adams Lost in Second Round
NJ 1993–94 82 47 25 12 - 106 2nd in Atlantic Lost in Conf. Champ
NJ 1994–95 48 22 18 8 - 52 2nd in Atlantic Won Stanley Cup
NJ 1995–96 82 37 33 12 - 86 6th in Atlantic Missed Playoffs
NJ 1996–97 82 45 23 14 - 104 1st in Atlantic Lost in Second Round
NJ 1997–98 82 48 23 11 - 107 1st in Atlantic Lost in First Round
MIN 2000–01 82 25 39 13 5 68 5th in Northwest Missed Playoffs
MIN 2001–02 82 26 35 12 9 73 5th in Northwest Missed Playoffs
MIN 2002–03 82 42 29 10 1 95 3rd in Northwest Lost in Conf. Champ
MIN 2003–04 82 30 29 20 3 83 5th in Northwest Missed Playoffs
MIN 2005–06 82 38 36 - 8 84 5th in Northwest Missed Playoffs
MIN 2006–07 82 48 26 - 8 104 2nd in Northwest Lost in First Round
MIN 2007–08 82 44 28 - 10 98 1st in Northwest Lost in First Round
Total 1049 500 381 124 44

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Kreiser, John. "Unlocking the Trap - defense - Industry Overview", Hockey Digest, November 2003. Retrieved on 2006–09–03. 
  • Jacques Lemaire-Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum [1] Retrieved Oct. 10, 2006.

[edit] External links