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New Jersey's boss moves quickly -- again

Lou Lamoriello is not the sentimental sort. After the Devils' boss fired Kevin Constantine and hired Pat Burns on Thursday, it’s clear that the only kind of a coach who grows roots in the swamp is the kind who wins in the spring. CNNSI.com caught up with Sports Illustrated senior writer Kostya Kennedy, who has always believed in Lamoriello’s shoot-first mentality.

CNNSI.com: Is the firing of Kevin Constantine based on New Jersey hitting the mat so quickly in the playoffs?

Kennedy: New Jersey responded well to Constantine during the regular season -- he was a coach with a plan and he stuck to it and they had success -- but that’s exactly what it is. He lost to the Hurricanes, even if Carolina was better than everyone realized. Lou Lamoriello wants to be proactive, not reactive. And with changes coming to the team, this move gets a coach in to help shape that roster.

CNNSI.com: But is there any great shame in losing to the eventual conference champion?

Kennedy: If there is one, it’s that the Devils were an experienced team that clearly did not play its best and was beaten without any hocus-pocus, 1-0 in Game 6. A team that scores no goals in the deciding game, even with Carolina playing committed defense, well, to a team like the Devils, that shouldn’t happen. When it does, it bespeaks of a team playing with uncertainty. This team will have to undergo changes. There has to be a change in culture. That’s what this move is about, not so much about what Kevin Constantine did or didn’t do.

CNNSI.com: Are the Devils fumbling through an identity crisis?

Kennedy: I definitely think you’ve said it. I don’t know what to make of this team; they’re young, they’re old, they play defense, they score goals. And that versatility is OK when you’re winning, but not good when you’re not. As I’ve said before, there will be changes to the roster and there has been turnover in coaches, but Lamoriello is the constant. And Pat Burns will come in to crack the whip as he does, and we’ll see the team play with some dedication and focus next year.

CNNSI.com: They won a Cup with the trap, then they won a Cup as one of the highest scoring teams in the league. How will the Pat Burns Devils play?

Kennedy: If you look, Burns has had some variations over the years. He adjusts to his personnel without showing a lot of favorites. His team could have four games in five nights and you know on that fifth day, he’ll have you on the ice for a couple hours.

Youth is a good element for a Pat Burns team. Young players are hungry and they’ll work hard. Some might roll their eyes, but that’s what you’re looking at, a team that’s going to be committed in the way that all coaches hope their teams are committed.

They’ll be in good shape and play both ends of the ice; I don’t think well see a Jacques Lemaire-like trapping team. One of Burns’ strengths is adjusting his thinking to the personnel, which he’s done throughout his career. He’ll use every minute of training camp, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them get off to a slow start and come on as the season progresses. He might be a motivator, but he’s not necessarily the guy who shows up and a team wins five in a row.

How they are stylistically has to do with who’s on the roster.

CNNSI.com: Lamoriello said a certain “type” of coach was necessary, and that Pat Burns fit that “to a T.” Why wasn’t Burns hired to replace Larry Robinson? Is a new sheriff in town?

Kennedy: Getting a new sheriff in town is always the idea when you bring in a new coach. Why Constantine over Burns at the end of last season? Nobody but Lou knows that. Maybe he did, and maybe there were factors that got in the way. But if the Devils won a round or two in the playoffs, I’d be surprised to see us having this conversation. Constantine did what was asked, he got the team to commit to defense and Lamoriello thought he was the best man for the job. Lou would probably still think so if the team played well in the playoffs.

As for fitting the team to a T, Lou is the master of saying things like that.

CNNSI.com: Are you to the point yet where you think Lamoriello’s trigger finger is almost too quick?

Kennedy: I’m starting to. I thought he made the move with Lemaire at the right time. And while I was surprised by the Robbie Ftorek firing, it was the right thing to do. Then Larry Robinson wasn’t really cut out for the job. So before this change, all the moves could be explained. None were entirely impetuous. Now I’m thinking that Lou, just like a lot of guys, has a short fuse.

CNNSI.com: Does the addition of Burns change at all what you think of this team heading into the 2002-03 season?

Kennedy: The only thing it does is signal that they’ll be active in the offseason. The hockey analyst in me trusts Lamoriello in that he’ll make the right decisions. And Pat Burns is a better and more accomplished coach than Kevin Constantine, so it makes me think that it’s OK to keep change happening, especially when it’s a team that didn’t play to its expectations the prior season.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Kostya Kennedy covers the NHL beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.

 

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