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Peter DeBoer

Lamoriello will go behind Devils' bench, oversee Scott Stevens, Adam Oates

USA TODAY Sports
Scott Stevens will share the Devils coaching duties with Adam Oates and Lou Lamoriello.

The New Jersey Devils will go with an atypical approach behind the bench in the wake of Peter DeBoer's firing.

Team president and general manager Lou Lamoriello will oversee two old friends, Scott Stevens and Adam Oates, effectively creating a three-person head coaching staff for the time being, Lamoriello announced Saturday morning.

Stevens will coach the defense and Oates will handle the offense, Lamoriello said, calling it a "unique situation." There were no official titles given to Stevens or Oates.

Lamoriello also announced the dismissal of assistant Dave Barr.

Lamoriello, 72, last coached in 2007, for three games at the end of the season after he fired Claude Julien.

All things Devils: Latest New Jersey Devils news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

Stevens, a Hall of Fame defenseman, played 13 seasons with Devils. He returned to the organization as an assistant coach in 2012 and stepped down prior to the start of this season.

Oates is a Hall of Fame forward who spent two years as an assistant coach in New Jersey before getting hired to coach the Washington Capitals, where he went 65-48-17 in two seasons, 2012-2014.

The Devils have gotten off to a disappointing 12-17-7 start, ranking 28th in the league in scoring with 2.11 goals per game.

DeBoer went 114-93-41 in three-plus seasons with the Devils.

New Jersey visits the New York Rangers on Saturday night, the first game after the three-day holiday break.

PHOTOS: Top NHL stories of 2014

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