Lemaire due warm welcome in return to Xcel as a visitor

The past can be a daunting place to visit, littered with the emotional land mines that inevitably appear through everyday life. Friday, as Jacques Lemaire returned to the city where he built a hockey team, he saw only the good.

The former Wild coach looked out the airplane window and thought of the neighborhood where he lived for nine years. At his hotel, he ran on a treadmill -- he knew better than to try it outdoors -- where he could see the river and the Cathedral of St. Paul. By the time he arrived at the unfamiliar visitors' locker room at Xcel Energy Center, Lemaire's memories of his time here had taken the chill off the single-digit afternoon.

He returned to another former home earlier this year, beginning his second stint as coach of the New Jersey Devils. Tonight, when Wild fans see him behind the Devils' bench, they should reciprocate the sentiment this homecoming has fostered in Lemaire. His resignation last spring was the right choice -- for him and for the Wild. But he left a piece of his heart with the team he started, and Minnesota hockey fans will be forever in his debt.

"You try not to forget," said Lemaire, the Wild's only head coach until Todd Richards took over this season. "But you put aside the past, because you have to go on with your life.

"When we landed, I started to get a lot of memories, which was good. I was thinking, nine years I spent here. It was nice."

The Devils enter tonight's game with a 28-10-1 record and 57 points, tops in the Eastern Conference and second in the NHL. They roared to the best 30-game start in franchise history (21-8-1), breaking a record established during Lemaire's previous tenure in New Jersey.

Defense, of course, remains Lemaire's hallmark. The Devils have surrendered a paltry 86 goals, just one more than league leader Chicago. But this season, Lemaire also has offensive talent in Minnesotans Zach Parise and Jamie Langenbrunner, sharpshooter Patrik Elias, former North Dakota center Travis Zajac and Wild alumnus Brian Rolston.

Unsurprisingly, Minnesota's devoted hockey community grew restless when the Wild stagnated. Defense may win championships, but in the absence of championship banners, it doesn't win many hearts. Lemaire's message had lost its audience in the locker room, as it had 11 years earlier in New Jersey. A few months after team officials considered firing him, he stepped aside, giving the Wild the chance to forge a new identity while he took his own to a place where it could make a difference again.

The Devils' young players took to Lemaire quickly. They won their first nine road games of the season, one short of the NHL record for best start on the road. The Wild lost their first eight away from home, as the players let go of Lemaire's conservatism and absorbed Richards' more assertive style.

But a warm-up in November, followed by the best December in club history, showed the Wild is ready to move on. Richards and GM Chuck Fletcher continue to demonstrate they have a clear plan for the franchise and the will to carry it out. Thanks largely to Lemaire's work, they inherited a team in good position to take a leap forward.

Lemaire confirmed it will feel strange to stand behind the visitors' bench tonight. "The [Wild] is playing well, and they compete, which was what we tried to do all the time," Lemaire said. "When we got in, I remembered the fans, who were so good for us. You can't ask for more than what they gave us."

Tonight, they have the opportunity to show Lemaire a little extra appreciation. It would be only fitting, considering how much he gave to all Minnesotans who love the game.