In My Humble Opinion: Jacques Lemaire Owes Wild

(Photo by Getty Images)

If I were Gary Bettman, I'd adopt a new rule for NHL coaches who pull the wool over their former team's eyes by announcing their retirement and then having a change of heart.

Jacques Lemaire claimed he was burnt out and wanted to step away from the bench, so he announced his retirement early last month.

However, a little schmoozing and a nice salary was all it took for Lemaire to change his mind and return for his second stint as Devils head coach. 

Lemaire put the Wild in a bad situation, granted the Devils had the same thing happen to them with Brent Sutter. However, a coach who retires unexpectidly puts their former team in a position in which they have to scramble to find a new coach. Often, the right man isn't found until just before it's too late.

I say Lemaire's stunt wasn't fair to the Wild, and I propose the following rule change. Any coach who announces their retirement must stay retired for one season. Any team that claims a coach's services during that period should be required to fork over a draft pick for their new coach's services to his former team.

After all, the Jets had to give the Patriots three draft picks for the right to have Bill Parcells coach them. Why can't this rule apply in hockey?

Other opinions from the week in sports.

• The Home Run Derby was a total snoozefest. Aside from a few moon shots from Pujols and Fielder, a few years from now, nothing will remembered from this Derby.
• Congratulations to Prince Fielder anyway, it must make him proud to know that he accomplished something his father never did.
• I may not be able to hit a home run, let alone get a base hit, but I'll always take comfort in the fact that I would do as well as Brandon Inge did in a Home Run Derby.
• I'm convinced that Inge was replaced by an impostor or that someone actually thought he was among the best power hitters in the game. 
• The least Joe Maddon could have done was given Tim Wakefield an opportunity to pitch in the game. It isn't often you see a 42-year-old first-time All-Star.
• Sayonara, Julio Lugo, enjoy your $23 million "gift" from the Boston Red Sox.
• Yao Ming is done for the season with a hairline fracture. His departure assuredly means a long season for the Rockets.
• I didn't see it, but from what I heard, Joe Buck Live was a big-time failure. Buck is the Ryan Seacrest of sports, overrated but everywhere.
• In my 20-plus years of watching Boston sports, I have never seen a more selfish, egotistical, miserable athlete with more hubris in him than Antione Walker. The fact that he was arrested this week comes as no surprise to me personally.
• I can't wait to see what Fenway Park looks like with a sheet of ice on it.
• Look, Boston doesn't need another all-sports radio station, but I'm intrigued by the fact that WEEI will have a legitimate competitor within a few weeks.
• Brett Favre within the Jets was a failed experiment. Brett Favre with the Vikings has the potential to be an absolute laughingstock. Quit while you're still popular, Brett; it's the only way to save your reputation.
• Brock Lesner's victory celebration was a little over the top, but given the fact that he was once in the WWE, are you really surprised?
• The answer to last week's trivia question is Angels Stadium. This week's question, when was the last time the game was in Anaheim, and who was the MVP?
• Sigh, if only the National League could win the Midsummer Classic now and then. It's boring otherwise.

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