With plenty of speculation circulating that head coach John MacLean's job is in jeopardy, New Jersey Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello is standing by his man.
In an interview with NorthJersey.com Devils' blog 'Fire and Ice', Lamoriello said that any notion of MacLean being fired was "ridiculous" and that it was up to the players to pull themselves out of their current funk.
"Right now what we have to do is you're not going to win unless your best players – and this is not targeting any one or two – but your top players have to be your top players, at least 80 percent of them, night in and night out," Lamoriello told Fire and Ice. "And that's what we have to get is that."
When asked if he believed that MacLean was the right man to pull the Devils out of their slow start that sees them dead last in the Eastern Conference, Lamoriello replied: "Yes I do."
Despite boasting a roster that features offensive talents like Ilya Kovalchuk, Zach Parise, Travis Zajac, Patrik Elias and Jason Arnott, New Jersey has scored just 17 goals in nine games while allowing a league high 35.
After MacLean made Kovalchuk a healthy scratch last Saturday, for reportedly showing up late for a team meeting, the Devils have lost three straight by a combined score of 14-4.
