DeBoer returns to South Florida

Given that DeBoer is currently playing Adam Larsson more than any other Devils defenseman and he makes at least a mistake or two per game. The only ones that really have to fear it from what I can tell is the fourth liners. Those are the ones who wind up riding the pine if they make a mistake with Kovalchuk often taking the extra shifts on the fourth line.

Now DeBoer might’ve learned a lot from his time in So Florida and has changed his ways a bit (he wouldn’t be much of a coach if he didn’t learn and adapt).

Great article and purely the truth. I was a big PDB fan. I felt he was the fall guy for “the past” and coach Dineen was the turning point. I don’t believe he had a real fighting chance but I am happy that he landed in New Jersey. Though I hope he blows it tomorrow night.

Did all that really happen in just 3 seasons? I feel like it was decades ago I was so excited about this new coach getting his first crack at the NHL, with a plethora of success in the junior levels…. Nick Boynton, we hardly knew ye.

Forgetting his approach, strip away the tiebreaker playoff jones in ‘09, BoyntonGate, ownership issues, inept or financially handcuffed GMs, a badly-depleted prospect system and three years of generally AHL-caliber rosters and it’s obvious DeBoer never stood a chance in Sunrise.

Kulikov isn’t saying Dineen is a better coach than DeBoer becuase the Cats are in first place in the division, because they have a better GM, or because the team has an NHL roster at last. Kulikov is ONLY commenting on the coaching styles of Dineen and DeBoer and when you have a young, inexperience roster full of undeveloped talent you can’t afford to be too heavy-handed with punishments for mistakes. You obviously have to reinforce what was done wrong and how to improve so you don’t make the same mistake(s) but you can’t really develop from the bench.
DeBoer clearly wasn’t gonna take this franchise to the Cup and this franchise clearly wasn’t gonna make DeBoer look like coach of the year but that ‘09 meltdown cannot just be ignored while complimenting the 90+ point finish. You gotta give credit for both. It’s nice for Pete that he is getting another chance to prove himself but just looking at the way the Panthers play the game for Dineen and how they played for DeBoer it really is night and day. With Dineen we are seeing some of the hardest skating we have seen in the last 15 years but we often saw sluggish play during DeBoer’s time. This doesn’t just account for new talent because we are seeing effort out of the guys that both coaches had on the roster.
I’m not trying to say that this season’s early success is due entirely to Dineen or that past failures were due entirely to DeBoer but it does sometimes seem like some feel a need to rush to Pete’s defense over even the most minimal of derisions. Also, not trying to suggest you aren’t entitled to your opinion. I hope DeBoer has a fine year in Jersey but I hope the Panthers stomp the Devils (And Flyers and Penguins and Rangers) every chance we get.

that he seemingly never met an excuse he didn’t like during his time in South Florida when the team lost.
I’m not going to call him a bad coach but for me he juggled the lines too much, had a real problem picking the proper players for shoot outs and didn’t have a good feel for handling goalie playing time. Thought he really burned Vokoun out at times and when he got hot play from a backup he didn’t let it run it’s course before going back to Vokie.

My problem with DeBoer is that he coached a style so boring no one wanted to watch, fans, media, even the player probably hated it. Florida didn’t win, free agents didnt want to play here. The team never improved.