Devils long and careful coaching search nearing end, but who is the surprise guy?

There is always a huge mystery when it comes to figuring out Devils General Manager Lou Lamoriello and the way he conducts and goes about his business. So far, there has been a huge guessing game on who the coach will be and ever since the draft there have been more denials than actual truths from potential coaching candidates. This leads us to believe that the coach the Devils will hire is likely a surprise or maybe not. So far here is the list of candidates that have denied any contact with Lou:

-Guy Carbonneau (former Habs Coach)
-Mike Eaves (University of Wisconsin Coach)
-Ken Hitchcock (former Stars, Flyers and Jackets coach)
-Craig Ramsay (former Thrashers and Flyers coach) - will join Florida as assistant coach.

Carbonneau is leaving his junior job, Eaves might leave Wisconsin, Hitchcock remains interested and Ramsay mentioned above is joining Florida Panthers as assistant coach. This potentially leaves Michel Therrien or Mike Haviland as potential front runners for the job. Both would not be surprises considering Haviland is a Jersey native and Therrien used to coach the Montreal Canadiens and the Devils have a knack for former Habs coaches. Therrien would fit the mold as the fiery and tough guy coach the Devils would need. Haviland would be a first time NHL coach, but he has more upside than MacLean did in the sense that he has won a Stanley Cup in this new ear of NHL with Chicago in 2010 as an assistant coach and has worked very well with one of many faces of the new NHL In Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook. However, the first three on that list above in Hitchcock, Eaves and Carbonneau should also be included and considered in the sense that being quiet might actually mean they are serious candidates, but we will never know until a new coach is hired. Other names are former Oilers coach Craig MacTavish, former Devils assistant and current Senators AHL coach Kurt Kleinendorst and former Panthers coach Peter DeBoer.

So, now the question is when will Lou Lamoriello finally name a coach. The Devils 3rd annual prospects and developmental camp begins Monday July 11, so a coach will most likely need to be hired by then unless Lou Lamoriello comes up with some kind of an excuse that there is no need for one during the camp. Lamoriello hired Brent Sutter and re-hired Jacques Lemaire on July 13th 2007 and 2009 respectively. So, that could mean a next Wednesday hire if he follows that formula. But many feel it will happen sometime between tomorrow and next Monday afternoon. We shall see and be surprised or not.