PALMETTO, Fla. — Hard to say what was more unexpected, seeing an 11-time Stanley Cup champion and Montreal Canadiens hall of famer rolling his municipal garbage can to the curb or watching him do it in a Toronto Maple Leafs golf shirt.

Sacre’ bleu!

But there was Jacques Lemaire pulling domestic duty Monday morning in his latest team’s colors, wraparound sunglasses dangling from his neck and a cigar between his lips. He welcomed a familiar face into his Gulf Coast semi-retirement with a warm smile and twinkle in the eye instantly recognizable to Minnesota Wild fans who remember Lemaire as the franchise’s first head coach from 2000-09.

His thinning hair is no longer salt and pepper but all white. He walks with a slight limp after having left-knee replacement surgery a year ago. But Lemaire, 72, is otherwise fit and plenty tan like the rest of the snowbirds and retirees walking the grounds of their tony gated community.

“Some days I feel like 80,” Lemaire says with a hearty laugh.

He and his wife, Mychele, have lived on the banks of the Manatee River with Tasha, their Yorkshire terrier, since Lemaire permanently retired from coaching with the New Jersey Devils in 2011. They had to rebuild after fire totally destroyed the property the year they moved in. Fortunately, no one was home at the time

In July, the Lemaires celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Their three adult children treated the couple to a Caribbean cruise and then surprised them a day into the trip by knocking on their cabin door with six grandchildren in tow — ages 5 through 18.

Lemaire is in his sixth decade in professional hockey. He retired as a player in 1980 and coached more than 1,200 games over 17 years with the Canadiens, Wild and two stints with the Devils.

He won eight Stanley Cups as a player, two as an assistant general manager with Montreal and one as Devils head coach in 1995. The two-time winner of the Jack Adams Trophy as the NHL’s coach of the year also won an Olympic gold medal with Team Canada in 2010 while serving as an assistant with head coach Mike Babcock.

In 2015, Lemaire was hired by Maple Leafs president Lou Lamoriello, his longtime friend, to consult with Babcock, who has positioned Toronto among the elite teams in the Eastern Conference.

Lamoriello and Lemaire are unsigned beyond this season, so this might be Lemaire’s swan song. Either way, he is wholly secure with his place in hockey history and perfectly content to cruise the gulf in his speedboat and entertain his grandkids.

Over salad, sushi and beers at the marina restaurant, Lemaire talked about the state of the NHL, his best teams and times in Minnesota, dished on the current Wild, buried the hatchet with Scotty Bowman and opined whether fighting still has a place in the modern game:

Your job title with the Maple Leafs is “special assignment” coach. What does that entail?

I work with the coaches. It’s not a day job, although I watch all the games. I report on all games to Lou on all the players. The rest is by phone and when I go there (Toronto) once a month for five or six days we chat about everything.

Wild fans have been waiting for that first long playoff run since your run to the conference finals in ’03 …

I don’t know if it’s going to be this year.

Really? What do you see when you study the Wild?

They’re a good team, there’s no doubt. I don’t know if it’s a team that can beat other teams and other teams and keep going. (They’re) a tough team to figure out. They could go and beat a team, but sometimes it’s like they struggle after that. They’re not consistent.

What would make them more consistent?

You need your top guys to be superstars and be there every day.

They don’t really have a superstar. They have some very good players, but not a game breaker.

That’s it. They have good players. They’ll do fine, but at a time they won’t score. You need the guys to score. That’s why we’re going so good. (William) Nylander, (Mitchell) Marner and (Austin) Matthews. These three guys, one of the three will score every game. There’s one going every game.

Expectations have to be high in Toronto.

It’s high. The fans feel we’ll win, but we have a long ways to go.

What do you see in the game today? The speed and talent just gets better every year.

A lot of people talk about the speed; I think it’s the puck movement that makes the speed. First of all, we did that a bit, us, and we did it because we were not a good team yet in Minnesota. We were an average team. We sent it because we didn’t want it in our own end. Now everyone sends it up to attack. That part changed. Everyone moves up, everyone moves up on that pass — everyone going on offense. Us (Wild), we had the offense that tried to counter.

What about coaching? The video review sessions and the days seem to get longer and longer.

The guys, they work, I don’t know how many hours they’re at the video. They’re searching. They’re looking for something new. They don’t stop. Mike (Babcock) gets there at 7 o’clock and he’s going to look at his tape until practice. Doesn’t stop.

Do you think the game is overcoached, or is it new ways to deploy strategy? And now there are analytics and stats for everything for a game where a random bounce of the puck can change everything.

I think there are people who came in looking for a job so they thought they would bring that up. Some of the stats — c’mon, give me a break.

Which one makes you laugh the most?

There’s a lot of them. It’s a big thing for contracts, the time you play. It’s on TV. He’s got two passes. He’s got one hit and spent so much time on the ice. And then zone time — that’s crazy to me. There’s a stat they had how many times the defensemen skate out of our end.

What does that tell people? That they’re aggressive?

No. It tells you that nobody’s on him. He’s all alone in the zone. He’s not forechecked so he can bring the puck up. Because if someone’s coming, he’ll move the puck and won’t get out with it. So what are you trying to get?

But people are going to say, “Jacques, you’re just an old dinosaur.”

I know. That’s fine. And that I know (laughs). Believe me, I know. It’s funny and I’m probably the wrong guy with all these stats you can talk to. When I started to coach, I thought coaches were complicated but the game was easy. I always tried to make it easiest for the players to play the game and enjoy it so it was not a job. So, we were going to make it so easy that you’ll enjoy it. That was my goal. But now, I can’t coach today with all these stats. First of all, I wouldn’t have these guys around.

Is there any part of being behind the bench you miss?

I miss it and I don’t miss it. I don’t miss it because I’m done, and it’s clear in my mind. I don’t miss it.

It wasn’t always clear in your mind, though, right? You thought it was a couple times.

I was not forced, but I was pushed to go back to Jersey for Lou in 2011. I know that I’m done coaching the game, but sometimes I think about when I was with the guys on the ice. Those are the moments you miss. The coaches, with Mario (Tremblay), Mike (Ramsey) and Mace (Bob Mason), we had a lot of fun. You miss that. You have to. But my time is done. It’s over.

Thinking back to your time in Minnesota, and all the experiences you’ve had in hockey, where does that fit into your memories? What do you remember the most?

It’s funny. We had good times in Minnesota, but every time I think about Minnesota, and it always hits me, it’s the people. I went to a lot of cities and people are rude. People, they’ll drive over you with their car to get somewhere if they can. Even here (Florida), you’re going to get people that want to go through you. In Minnesota, it reminded me … I was going to dinner with my wife and there was a car in front of us, and he let the people on the sidewalk across the street. I said, ‘Are we back in Switzerland?’ That’s what they did there. They don’t have a fast life like they do here. I said, ‘Hey, it’s like Switzerland. People, they care.’ I didn’t see that all the cities I went in the States. Every time I think about Minnesota, that’s the very first thing I think of. It was like Quebec. You’ve got the lakes and the forest and the people were kind. People were behind us big time.

What about hockey-wise?

Hockey wise? All the guys I worked with, starting with (former general manager) Doug (Risebrough) and the players we had, I could see they just wanted to know about the game. “Just tell me what to do.” It was great to work with these guys, and it was fun. It was especially great when you’re seeing them have success.

Did you feel like you accomplished everything you could, or was there one team that you thought you could have done more with?

That (2007) matchup with Anaheim, the year we lost (defenseman Kim) Johnsson there, that was tough. He was our top defenseman. And the other year we lost to Anaheim (2003), I thought we could go all the way. Because you have to be on a roll and have that feeling inside. You’ve got to feel your team exactly thinks the way you do. There’s only one team that does that every year.

Did you see the story TSN did on Matt Johnson, living homeless on a beach in California?

I heard about that.

He always struck me as someone who didn’t like the enforcer role he had to play but was stuck doing that.

There’s a lot of guys that it affects them, especially in those days. Not today. It doesn’t exist. But in those days, (John) Kordic, you name it. (Chris) Nilan after. It’s not an easy job. Every night you’ve got to look at the other side and say, ‘He’s the guy I’ve got to get.’ To make a name for yourself, to find a place on the team, it’s OK. But after three or four years, you think you belong there but coaches use you only to go and fight, and some did.

Johnson always said you were the first coach who ever asked him to play hockey, too.

I always told the tough guys you’ve got to find a way to play. I never sent those guys to fight. They knew. You go on the ice after a guy ran (Wayne) Gretzky or (Pierre-Marc) Bouchard — he knows.

Have we reached a point where fighting should just be out of the game entirely?

No.

There’s still a role for it?

Yeah. I wouldn’t call that a role, but it’s still a part of the game. At a time, a guy does too much against another guy … but you get less and less of it. Only certain teams still play that way, and that comes from the coaches.

Do you know Bruce Boudreau well? Ever met him?

Not really. I’ve met him, but not to talk to him. He looks fine. His teams always work hard. They know what they have to do.

Fans love him. That’s half the battle.

Yes, it is.

Are you preparing to be content and completely done with hockey? Have a date in mind, or will it always be a feel for you?

I think it’s going to happen when I won’t have a reason to work.

What’s your reason to work now?

Reason to work is I like the way I’m used. I like who I work with. It gets me money. That’s reality.

I figured you were pretty smart with your money.

Doesn’t matter. One thing I can tell you is the day you stop working, it’s over, money coming in. It’s all money going out. I can eat three meals a day. I’m OK. But I would ask you a question … would you do your job for nothing?

There are certain days I would say yes.

Me too. It’s still fun; a great job. That’s what I’m saying, when it’s over, it’s done.

What will keep you occupied?

Golf. Little fishing. Go to the granddaughter’s softball games.

I assume you have the NHL Network. Ever stumble across some old classic games you played in?

Oh, yeah, I watched a bit yesterday. They were talking about Philly when they won the two Cups, Boston with (Bobby) Orr, us with (Guy) LaFleur, the four Cups. That was great.

What do you see when you see a younger version of yourself on the ice?

You always wonder … we never had coaching.

What do you mean? Scotty Bowman might have something to say about that.

Probably (laughs). Well, let’s say at a young age, until juniors, it was left to you. Today, they have their own trainers and all summer they train and learn new things in practice. You wonder how would I play today if I had done that. How would I be if I developed the skills more?

It almost sounds like regret. You’re in the hall of fame.

No. I just wonder.

You were famous for shooting lead pucks to develop your hard shot. Who came up with that idea?

A friend of mine was working in a machine shop. He knew I was practicing shooting. He said, ‘Hey, I can make you a lot heavier but normal size puck?’ I said, sure. I started to shoot that. I was breaking all the walls in the basement. I was 13 or 14.

Well, it paid off, right? At least Tony Esposito would say that. (Esposito was the Chicago goalie who yielded Lemaire’s 75-foot slap shot in Game 7 of the 1971 Stanley Cup Finals, which the Canadiens won over the Blackhawks).

(Laughs). Yeah.

Was that the longest goal you ever scored?

Yup. Just inside the red line. When I tell the story, I tell the people, I was tired, I wanted to change. Instead of shooting in the corner, I shot it on net. I was on the left side of the rink. When I shot it, I just kept going to the right and the puck got in when I got to the door (of the bench). So, I didn’t really see the puck go in. Related Articles Bob Nevin, won 2 Stanley Cups with Maple Leafs and played 2 seasons with North Stars, dies at 82

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I see you’re wearing your 1995 Stanley Cup ring from coaching the Devils. Do you switch them up?

It’s the most special for me. We came close the year before. As a player, you win the Cup, OK, you’re with the guys, you’re happy for yourself and the other guys but mostly for yourself. You’re going, ‘Hey, I won the Cup!’ As a coach, it’s the opposite. You’re happy for them. You see them grow through the season, how they work, all that they have to do to get there and be a champion. You see their faces, these memories you’re going to keep forever.

What’s your relationship like today with Scotty?

Good. I’d say a lot better than it was (laughs). You think about all kind of stuff. I don’t know if it’s because you’re getting softer or older …

It’s not worth holding onto grudges?

Yeah, yeah. He had his way of working, and in those days I disagreed. Today, I say it was his way. Coaches 30 years ago and 40 years ago, they had their way, and I disagreed with them. But I said, ‘Well, I had some success. He probably got the best out of me.’ I don’t know. So, I let it go.

What do you hope players who have played for you will say about Jacques Lemaire?

I’ve got a lot of guys, either by phone or wrote to me, thanked me for what I did. That’s plenty for me.

Who among Minnesota players have reached out over the years?

Mikko (Koivu), (Andrew) Brunette, (Stephane) Veilleux — he called me a few times. (Sean) O’Donnell. Wes (Walz). The guys, just when you meet them, the way they approach you, you know how they feel about you. Anyway, a lot of guys, the way they look at me tells me a lot. I coached close to 17 years, different years, and I’m trying to look at the guys that either didn’t work out or I feel that I didn’t bring them a lot or enough, and I can count them on one hand.