TAMPA, Fla. – Barry Trotz chats, from time to time, with Hall of Famer Jacques Lemaire, now a special assignment coach for the Islanders who lives in the Tampa region.
Lemaire was a potent playmaking center who averaged nearly a point per game for the dynastic Canadiens from 1967-79 and later coached the stingy Devils to their first Stanley Cup in 1995. And when Lemaire recounts his playing days with fellow Hall of Fame scorers such as Guy Lafleur, Steve Shutt, Jean Beliveau and Yvan Cournoyer, he never fails to tell Trotz how good the Canadiens were defensively, as well.