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Charles Krupa/Associated Press

New Jersey Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello's decision to bring in both Adam Oates and Scott Stevens after firing former coach Peter DeBoer was unorthodox, to say the least.

Oates, who was an assistant coach in New Jersey during the team's run to the 2012 Stanley Cup Final, took control of New Jersey's forwards. Scott Stevens, one of the greatest players in team history, took control of the defensemen.

But, on the surface at least, the change has been somewhat successful. The Devils were mired in a massive slump when DeBoer was fired at the end of December. Their record was 12-17-7 at the time of the change.

Since Oates, Stevens and Lamoriello took over behind the bench, the Devils are 19-14-5. The 1.13 points per game they have earned from that record would have been enough to keep the team at least in the playoff conversation, if extrapolated out over 82 games.

Of course, in reality New Jersey is not on course for the playoffs, so much of the remainder of the regular season will be spent thinking about how the Devils will look next year.

One of the outstanding questions regarding New Jersey's 2015-16 season is who the team's next head coach will be. Could it be Oates?

This list will look at reasons for and against the Devils making Oates their next head coach, finding that it is still very much up in the air.