SILVER CLIFF… ’Twas the day after Christmas and all through the house… Hey, that’s about all I can remember from that little ditty, and it’s probably incorrect, too, but what isn’t is that the New Jersey Devils have fired head coach Peter DeBoer. The team has gone 4-10-6 in their last 20, and I guess presidente and GM Lou Lamarillo couldn’t take it anymore. The deal from my viewpoint, though, is this: was it DeBoer’s coaching or was it Lamarillo’s roster?  If you have a 43-year-old player leading your club in scoring, I’m going to take a scientific wild-assed guess (swag) that it just might be your roster. Now, this 43-year-old guy is no ordinary player; it is the hockey legend Jaromir Jagr. But still.

Are you kidding me, Lou? I have been a fan of yours for a long time. You have been one of the best execs in the show for years standing. However, outside of your 2012 trip to the Cup finals, some of your recent clubs have been very average. Yeah, I know, Ilya Kovalchuk pulled that stunt on you of leaving the NHL for the KHL, even though he had 72 years left on his contract. After all he put you through to obtain his services, that was just plain dirty and lowdown. I hope he is banned from the NHL for life, especially now that it looks like the KHL might go el-foldo with the collapse of the ruble taking place. And yes, you lost Zach Parise to our locals, the Wild, via free agency. You let former All World net minder Mar-tan Brodeur string you and the team along for about four years too many. You finally cut the cord, though. Now he is the Blues’ problem.
And now you are going to clean up your mess by appointing two guys, current assistant coach Scott Stevens (king of the blindside hit) and former assistant Adam Oates, to share the coaching duties as well as announcing that you will spend some time on the bench as well. What in the H-E-double hockey sticks is that all about, Lou? What exactly will you be doing on the bench? Isn’t that just some unnecessary interference? Hey Scottie! This is how you pace back and forth behind the bench! Hey Adam! You can have all the free bottled water you want back here!

Is this some kind of trend? Because this is the same thing that Craig McTavish did when he fired Dallas Eakins and brought in Todd Nelson from the OK City Barons to be the interim coach. What can a GM see from the bench that he wouldn’t be observing from the team’s box? And aren’t players certain to act or play differently with the presence of a GM behind the pine? It will be interesting to see how many more times this might occur when a change is made at the coach’s spot. What does that maneuver say? I just don’t get it…

PERHAPS ONE OF THE TOP THREE tourneys in the world is underway with the kickoff of the IIHF World Junior Tournament. Team USA won its first game 2-1 in a SO versus Team Finland. The competition is back in North America this year with games taking place in Montreal and Toronto. You can catch most if not all of the action on the NHL Network. You may also view all rosters and box scores at the IIHF website. Team USA and Team Canada will do battle on New Year’s Eve, and I can’t wait for that one. I have heard predictions all over the board, with more than a few “experts” taking the Russians for the gold. Some have Canada, and some have the U.S. Most are of the belief that Team Sweden and Finland won’t be as good as last year’s entrants. I like the U.S.’s chances, but a lot of things have to break right to get a gold medal at one of these events…

CONSPICUOUS BY HIS absence during the weeklong bereavement for the late Habs legend Jean Beliveau was the hockey idol of my youth, Henri “The Pocket Rocket” Richard. I did not notice Henri at any of the ceremonies, saw no quotes from him regarding the passing of Le Gros Bill, and heard no mention of him. This has led me to wonder whether the Pocket Rocket is okay. I can only surmise that one of these three things is going on: he and Jean did not get along, which I wouldn’t believe because Beliveau was universally liked and revered; perhaps Jean and Henri were so close that Henri was too shaken up to attend any of the celebrations; or… Henri is in ill health and not doing well. He is going on 80 himself.

These two men have 28 Stanley Cup rings between them. Henri won 11 as a player, which is unmatched by anyone. Jean won 17, 10 as a player and 7 as an executive with the Canadiens. Henri succeeded Jean as captain when Beliveau retired….

THE WILD HAVE JUST dropped an OT tilt on the front end of a home and home to the Winnipeg Jets in St. Paul. The Jets came into tonight’s game with an eight-point lead on the Wild, with the Wild having three games in hand. However, those mean nothing without getting a regulation-time victory with those games. With a possible four points available from the two games, the Wild needed two outright wins to climb back into the fight for a playoff spot. This was critical because from a divisional standpoint, Winnipeg is probably the team the Wild will have to displace to get in. I track the Jets a little bit, and they are a big club and hard to play.

When they weren’t getting the goaltending they needed early in the year, they struggled. That has turned around, and so have the team’s fortunes. I am not quite ready to pronounce this season’s edition of the Wild unworthy of a playoff spot, but if the Jets win in regulation Monday night, I think the Wild can forget about getting in this year. Neither Darcy Kuemper nor Niklas Backstrom was available to play tonight (illness), and the club brought in John Curry from the Iowa Wild to play. Let’s say that the team did not lose because of Curry’s play in goal; rather, they lost on a bizarre play in front of Curry mid-overtime. The Wild have not been road warriors in the recent past. Can they save their season in the Peg on Monday eve? PEACE

Marc Elliott is a sports opinion writer who splits his time between his hometown in Illinois and Minnesota.