Reasons for and Against the New Jersey Devils Making Adam Oates Their Next Coach

New Jersey Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello's decision to bring in both Adam Oates and Scott Stevens after firing former coach Peter DeBoer was unorthodox, to say the least.

Oates, who was an assistant coach in New Jersey during the team's run to the 2012 Stanley Cup Final, took control of New Jersey's forwards. Scott Stevens, one of the greatest players in team history, took control of the defensemen.

But, on the surface at least, the change has been somewhat successful. The Devils were mired in a massive slump when DeBoer was fired at the end of December. Their record was 12-17-7 at the time of the change. 

Since Oates, Stevens and Lamoriello took over behind the bench, the Devils are 19-14-5. The 1.13 points per game they have earned from that record would have been enough to keep the team at least in the playoff conversation, if extrapolated out over 82 games. 

Of course, in reality New Jersey is not on course for the playoffs, so much of the remainder of the regular season will be spent thinking about how the Devils will look next year.

One of the outstanding questions regarding New Jersey's 2015-16 season is who the team's next head coach will be. Could it be Oates? 

This list will look at reasons for and against the Devils making Oates their next head coach, finding that it is still very much up in the air.

For: Increase in Goal Scoring

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Jacob Josefson celebrates scoring a goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Because Oates has been in charge of the forwards exclusively, rating his performance with the team this season is slightly more straightforward than in the case of the average coach.

The forwards, obviously, are charged with the task of providing the majority of the offense for the team. The clear way to measure that production is in goals.

Under DeBoer, the Devils averaged 2.11 goals per game through his 36 games in charge. 

Under the new coaching triumvirate, they average 2.26 goals per game. 

Of course, that increase does not come in a vacuum. The Devils' schedule under DeBoer included more road games (20 out of 36) than under the new staff (14 out of 38, thus far), which has certainly aided Oates. Also, injuries have taken a toll on the team throughout the season, but more seriously during 2014 than 2015 when Oates and Stevens took charge. 

Conversely, Oates had to deal with the uncertainty of the trade deadline at the drama it brought. He also has been without the services of Jaromir Jagr since he was traded to the Florida Panthers.

So, the factors that impacted the Devils' ability to score under DeBoer and those that impacted their ability to score under Oates are probably about equal. So, we can attribute, at least in part, a 0.15 goals per game increase to him. 

The increase is obviously slim, and the total number of goals is still entirely too low. But, his ability to boost production from an offensively poor team is worth noting. 

Against: Decrease in Shots

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Stephen Gionta unleashes a shot from a tight angle.

Though the Devils have scored more goals since Oates took control of the forwards, they have also taken less shots. 

Under DeBoer, the Devils averaged 25.9 shots per game, which would be second-lowest in the NHL. 

Under the new staff, New Jersey averages 22.8 shots per game, which is lower than every NHL team's shots per game rate. Even the lowly Buffalo Sabres average 23.4 shots per game, just under a shot more than the Devils under Lamoriello, Oates and Stevens. 

New Jersey is not a good offensive team, as anyone who has watched the team regularly will know. But, the extent to which the team is failing to generate offensive chances is unacceptable. 

Part of the blame surely falls on the team as a whole, which generally struggles to control games. But, if a team fails to get the puck to the net so regularly, part of the blame must also fall on the coach in charge of offense.

For: Head Coaching Experience

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Adam Oates during his time as head coach of the Washington Capitals.

One clear advantage Oates has over Stevens in the potential race to the head coaching vacancy is his prior experience as an NHL head coach. Oates coached the Washington Capitals for two seasons from 2012-2014. 

He started his first season in charge, 2012-13, at a distinct disadvantage. The season started late due to a lockout, so Oates had an extremely abbreviated training camp to implement his style of play. The team struggled to find its way for the first third of the shortened season but ultimately came together to win 15 of its final 19 games and top the Southeast Division. 

The last time the Devils hired a head coach with no prior NHL head-coaching experience, it was an unmitigated disaster. John MacLean won only nine games out of 33 before being fired after being hired at the start of the 2010-11 season. 

If Oates' top competition for the position in New Jersey is Stevens, that memory may still linger in Lamoriello's head, helping make Oates a top candidate.

Against: Only Mild Success in Last Head Coaching Job

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Adam Oates draws up a play during practice with the Capitals.

Of course, prior experience as a head coach in the NHL is only worth so much without prior success to go along with it.

After winning the Southeast Division in 2012-13, Oates and the Capitals lost to the New York Rangers in the first round of the playoffs. In 2013-14, Washington finished the season three points short of a playoff spot.

The team's 38-30-14 record was not awful, but missing the playoffs was deemed unacceptable by Capitals management. Oates and general manager George McPhee were fired after the season.

Oates' time in Washington was by no means an unabated failure, but it certainly was not a roaring success either. In 2013-14 in particular, the Capitals struggled to find consistent goaltending, which was a factor out of Oates' control to an extent. In all, though, the team gave up five more goals than it scored over the course of the season, which makes it nearly impossible to be a playoff team.

So, though Oates has previous experience as a head coach of an NHL team, there are some questions to be asked about his tenure in charge of the Capitals. 

For: He Has Gotten the Most out of Role Players

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Steve Bernier comes to a quick stop while knocking home a pass from Scott Gomez. The goal was 11th of the season and first of two that night.

The Devils are short on top-tier forward talent. So, it is crucial that at times they get offense from less skilled forwards. 

In this category, the team has succeeded under Oates. 

Two of the most pleasant surprises of the second half of the season have been the performances of Jordin Tootoo and Steve Bernier, neither of whom were expected to be major contributors at the start of the season.

Since the coaching change, these two players have combined for 18 goals and 12 assists. With strong finishes to the season, both players could match career highs in goals, and Bernier could match a career high in points. 

Stephen Gionta and Jacob Josefson's offensive contributions have been less heralded but still impressive. Gionta missed a month and a half due to injury, but he still has six points in 20 games since the coaching change, leads the team in plus/minus and recently has been asked to take on an increased defensive role by often matching up against opponents' top lines.

Josefson has seven points in 29 games since the coaching change, has started playing on the power play and has evolved into a player who plays 12-15 minutes a night. 

If Lamoriello manages to bring in two scoring forwards in the offseason, and Oates could get similar performances out of these role players next year, the team would be well on its way to finding a recipe for success.

Against: Some of the Team's Top Forwards Have Struggled

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Travis Zajac fails to convert on a partial breakaway against the Buffalo Sabres.

While some less talented forwards have made significant strides this year, some more talented forwards have stagnated. 

Travis Zajac scored his first goal in nearly a month Thursday night, Patrik Elias has not scored since Feb. 20 and Michael Ryder and Martin Havlat have continued to not find a place under the new coaching staff. Tuomo Ruutu and Dainius Zubrus have struggled, as well.

Of course, how strongly these facts weigh against Oates' candidacy depend on how much factors outside of coaching might have an impact. 

Zajac has always been a player who is only at his best when he has top level talent to play with. He is clearly short on that this season, for which Oates certainly cannot be blamed. Is that what has caused his struggles this season?

Elias will be 39 years old in a few weeks. Is his declining production simply a factor of his age?

Ryder and Havlat both struggled before this season, as well. Are both players past their prime, or has treatment from Oates and the new coaching staff set them even further back?

The answers to these presently unanswerable questions ultimately determine Oates' culpability in the struggles of the Devils' top forwards. It is worth noting that during his time coaching the Capitals, Oates had one of the NHL's biggest superstars, Alex Ovechkin.

Under Oates, Ovechkin scored 83 goals in 125 games, leading the NHL in goals in both 2012-13 and 2013-14. He also won the Hart Trophy in 2013 as the NHL's most valuable player. 

Ovechkin, of course, is a unique talent who would likely score goals under any coach. The question for New Jersey is whether Oates can get production from goal scoring forwards of slightly less talent than Ovechkin.

For: He Knows What It Takes to Succeed with the New Jersey Devils

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Adam Oates with Peter DeBoer during the 2011-12 season.

The New Jersey Devils have always operated in a particular way under Lamoriello.

The Devils aim to play a defense-first game with a team-first mentality. No player or coach is ever bigger than the rest of the team. At the end of the day, everything has to get approved by Lamoriello.

Not every player or coach can fit into this system. The failed Ryder experiment is clear proof of that. But, Oates has already proven he can be successful in New Jersey.

Because he was an assistant coach on the team that went to the Stanley Cup Final in 2012, he can say something that few people in the last decade can—he was part of a deep playoff run with the Devils. The coaching staff that led New Jersey that season, DeBoer, Oates and Larry Robinson, helped turn a good team into a great one.

In a unique organization like that of the New Jersey Devils, the impact of that experience is key. His willingness to be a part of an unorthodox coaching setup for the second half of this season reaffirms his fit with the culture of the organization.

Conclusion: Should the Devils Consider Oates?

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Adam Oates behind the bench with Lou Lamoriello, the man who will decide who New Jersey's next head coach will be.

Oates' resume is complex. 

He spent two years in charge of a decent NHL team, but his impact on the Capitals was around average, at best. 

He was an assistant coach for the Devils during their best season of the last decade, but also brought only mild improvement, at best, in his most recent stint with the team.

All of these factors leave Oates in a position where he is definitely a candidate but not a clear front-runner. With Stevens as an option for promotion and external candidates, such as Dan Bylsma and Paul MacLean, Oates cannot be considered anything more than one of several options.

After spending half a season behind the bench with him, Lamoriello should have a good idea of how Oates operates as a coach. Only time will tell whether or not he has impressed the general manager enough to earn a promotion.