New Jersey Devils coach Brent Sutter resigned Tuesday, saying he wanted to concentrate on his family and the junior team he owns in Red Deer, Alberta. Sutter made his announcement on a conference call Tuesday afternoon, several weeks after the Devils' season ended with a crushing Game 7 first-round playoff loss to Carolina. He said that loss did not influence his decision. 'It had to do with a lot of things back here in Red Deer,' Sutter said. 'There were circumstances that have occurred especially over the last year that has made it increasingly more difficult and I have to do the right thing and the right thing was to step back and evaluate everything and go through the process that I had to go through and then my decision came down to what it is.' Sutter, who turns 47 later this week, has said that he struggled being away from his family and his decision did not come as a surprise to the Devils. He leaves with one year left on the three-year contract he signed when Devils General Manager Lou Lamoriello hired him in 2007. The Devils went 97-56-11 in Sutter's two seasons, but twice lost in the first round of the playoffs. In 2008, the New York Rangers knocked them out in five games. This season, Carolina scored two goals in the final 1 minute, 20 seconds to win Game 7. Sutter said he left with no regrets, despite the way his tenure ended. 'It was a great experience,' Sutter said. 'I don't regret that at all. It was two years there and I got the chance to be around some great people and all of the players that I coached over that period of time were fantastic.' The Devils could turn to one of Sutter's assistants, also their former player, John McLean. But another possibility is the return of Jacques Lemaire, the coach of the Devils' first Stanley Cup team in 1995, who recently resigned after eight seasons as Minnesota's coach. This will be the Devils' 10th coaching chance since Lemaire left in 1998. Twice Lamoriello has taken over after firing a coach and former defenseman Larry Robinson has had two stints as coach. 