After retiring in 1979 from a wildly successful 12 season playing career, all with the Canadiens, Jacques Lemaire turned to coaching. He started in Montreal, and after a brief stint as head coach, moved to New Jersey where he coached the Devils for five seasons, winning the Stanley Cup in 1994-95. Lemaire's Devils became well known for their defensive play, and are linked in the minds of all who remember that era to the deployment of the neutral zone trap.
Lemaire also coached the new expansion Minnesota Wild from 2000-01 through the end of the 2008-09 season when he was fired.