Lamoriello to stay as Devils coach for rest of season

NEW YORK (Reuters) – New Jersey Devils president and
general manager Lou Lamoriello will remain the National Hockey
League team’s coach for the rest of the season, the club said
on Wednesday.

Lamoriello took over as interim coach on December 19 when
Larry Robinson resigned abruptly for personal reasons. Robinson
had taken over the club in the absence of Pat Burns, who is
battling colon cancer.

The club originally planned to hire a new coach as soon as
possible, but said on their Web site that Lamoriello would stay
until the end of the season.

The Devils started with an ordinary 14-13-5 record and were
in 10th place in the Eastern Conference when Lamoriello took
over. Since then, however, they have gone 16-9-1 to move into
an Eastern Conference playoff spot.

Lamoriello had coached just one NHL game before this
season, in 1988. He has been a hockey executive for several
decades.

(Writing by Roger Lajoie in Toronto)