| MINNESOTA WILD SIGNS JACQUES LEMAIRE TO CONTRACT E | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Oct 11 2006, 03:14 PM (37 Views) | |
| Wild-Puck | Oct 11 2006, 03:14 PM Post #1 |
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For Immediate Release October 11, 2006 MINNESOTA WILD SIGNS JACQUES LEMAIRE TO CONTRACT EXTENSION SAINT PAUL/MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Minnesota Wild President and General Manager Doug Risebrough today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has signed Head Coach Jacques Lemaire to a multi-year contract extension. “Jacques continues to be the consummate teacher and leader, and his ability to adapt – to new players and to an evolving league – reinforced to Jacques and to the organization that the time was right to extend his relationship with the team. Jacques is the right person for this job, a statement as true today as it was the day he was hired,” said Risebrough. Lemaire, 61 (9/7/45), is in his seventh year as Head Coach of the Minnesota Wild after being named to the position on June 19, 2000. He has guided the Wild to a 164-168-81 record (.495), including a 98-69-41 mark (.567) at Xcel Energy Center. The team’s 161 wins in its first five seasons are the most of any expansion team in its first five years since 1991. In 2002-03, he led the Wild to the Western Conference Finals and was awarded the Jack Adams Trophy, as the NHL’s top coach, for the second time in his career. Lemaire owns a career head coaching record of 411-345-132 (.537) in 13 NHL seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, the New Jersey Devils and Minnesota. He has taken seven of the 12 teams he has coached to the postseason, and has a lifetime Stanley Cup playoff record of 57-44 (.564). In 2005-06, Jacques coached Minnesota to its third straight winning season with a 38-36-8 mark. He won his 400th game behind the bench on March 5 vs. Colorado to become the 19th coach in NHL history to reach that mark. Only seven teams earned more wins than the Wild during the 2002-03 campaign. Minnesota’s total of 95 points in the 2002-03 season ranks second all-time amongst third-year NHL teams and the 22-point increase was the third largest increase in the League. Lemaire has achieved several coaching milestones with Minnesota, including becoming the first person in NHL history to compete in 100 or more Stanley Cup playoff games as a player (145) and as a head coach (101). The LaSalle, Quebec, native spent five seasons (1993-98) as the New Jersey Devils Head Coach, compiling a record of 199-122-57 (.602). In 1994-95, he coached the Devils to their first-ever Stanley Cup title by going 16-4 in the playoffs, including a playoff record 10-1 on the road. In his first season with the team (1993-94), he was awarded the Jack Adams Trophy after guiding New Jersey to 47 wins and 106 points during the regular season. With Lemaire at the helm, the Devils also captured the first two Atlantic Division titles in franchise history (1996-97, 1997-98). Lemaire began his NHL coaching career with the Montreal Canadiens in 1983-84 when he took over for Bob Berry with 17 games remaining in the regular season and guided the club into the Wales Conference Finals. The next year, he coached Montreal to a 41-27-12 record and the Adams Division championship. Lemaire stepped aside as Head Coach following the 1984-85 campaign and moved to the front office where he held the position of Assistant to the Managing Director for seven of his last eight years with the Canadiens. During that same time, Lemaire held dual titles of Managing Director of the Fredericton Canadiens (1991-93) and Managing Director of the Verdun Junior Canadiens (1988-89). He played a role in both of Montreal’s Stanley Cup championships in 1986 and 1993. Lemaire played his entire NHL career with Montreal from 1967-79. He was a member of eight Stanley Cup championship-winning teams, including four straight from 1975-76 to 1978-79. He tallied the Stanley Cup-clinching goal in both the 1977 and 1979 Finals, becoming one of five players in history to accomplish the feat multiple times. The center recorded 835 career points (366 goals, 469 assists) in 853 regular season games, and netted 20 or more goals in each of his 12 seasons. Lemaire posted a career-high 44 goals during the 1972-73 campaign and registered a career-best 97 points in 1977-78. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984. -- WILD -- Visit the Minnesota Wild on the Internet at www.wild.com, presented by Comcast. |
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