Wild coach Lemaire returning in 2008-09

Posted: Sat May 10 2:30 PM

St. Paul, MN (Sports Network) - Jacques Lemaire announced Saturday that he will return next season as head coach of the Minnesota Wild, which will be his eighth with the club.

There had been some speculation after the second consecutive first-round exit by the Wild that Lemaire, the only coach in club history, would step down. He released a statement on Saturday confirming his return for the 2008-09 season.

"When you are younger, it's a lot easier to make a decision. At the end of the year, I said I wanted to ask questions of Doug (Risebrough, team president and general manager)," said Lemaire.

"I wanted to make sure my boss is happy with the work I am doing and with the way I manage the team. This is what we talked about in our meetings. I am reassured of my work and I want to coach again."

My satisfaction behind the bench is getting the team to play the best it can, individually and as a group. Success will come with that."

Lemaire was named head coach of the expansion Wild in June 2000 and has guided the club to a record of 253-222-99 in seven seasons, including a 44-28-10 mark this season, good for first place in the Northwest Division. The third- seeded Wild fell in six games to the sixth-seeded Avalanche in the first round of playoffs.

Lemaire led the Wild to the Western Conference finals in 2003 and earned the Jack Adams Award as the league's top coach for the 2002-03 campaign.

The Quebec native guided the Devils to the first of their three Stanley Cup titles in 1995 and was an eight-time Stanley Cup winner in his playing career from 1967-79 with the Canadiens.

Lemaire was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984, recording 366 goals and 469 assists for 835 points in 853 regular-season games.