His coaching career spread around Montreal, New Jersey, Minnesota and New Jersey again, Lemaire is best known for pioneering the defensive trap-style play that helped the Devils win their first Stanley Cup in 1995.
In 2003, Lemaire led a Minnesota Wild team out of expansion obscurity and pushed it to relevance in the hockey world, taking them to the Western Conference final where they were eliminated the Mike Babcock-led Anaheim Ducks.
Lemaire later work with Babcock, serving as an assistant coach as part of Team Canada’s 2010 Olympic gold medal-winning team
The relationship with both Lamoriello and Babcock and having both of them reach out is what enticed Lemaire about this new opportunity.