NEWARK -- The Devils missed the playoffs for the fourth straight season, but they made strides in rebuilding the team under first-year general manager Ray Shero and coach John Hynes.



NJ Advance Media sat down with Shero for a one-on-one Q&A session and asked him to assess this season and talk about where the Devils are headed.

Rich Chere: GMs always say unless their team wins the Stanley Cup or makes the playoffs, it isn't a successful season. Considering where the organization was when you took over as GM, are there successful elements to this season?



"I think so. To say unless you win the Cup it's not a successful year I think is hard. Because there are a lot of really good teams and franchises in this league that have not won a Cup yet. We were at the building stage in terms of what the expectations were. What you're trying to do is build some sort of foundation. I think we've done that and gained some credibility with our coaching staff and players. They played hard.

"For the last two games it's more pride than anything. I think they're all good character people and they're doing their best. But when you're eliminated, it's hard. I think in terms of where we want to be, we're in an okay spot. But maybe this is the easy part, too. We have to build upon this and that's going to be the challenge for myself, the coaches and the players who are returning next year.

"For other teams not to make the playoffs this year is really a disaster. For us, not so much. You have to start somewhere. I think we've made strides as far as how we play, how we practice, how our team becomes part of the community and in player development. I really built upon what Lou (Lamoriello) left, but in the direction we need to go. We have a ways to go."



What are some of the positives you see?



"You always talk about it being a team thing. I can see fans are excited about Kyle Palmieri, Adam Larsson and, of course, Cory (Schneider). Travis Zajac and Adam Henrique have quietly had very soon seasons. They've really pushed us and helped us. Where would we be without them? And, of course, (Mike) Cammalleri until he was injured. He only played half a year.

"I think (David) Schlemko) has been a nice story. The whole team is finding consistency and finding ways to win. We've made some strides this year but over the next two, three, four years we've got to continue to do this and hopefully not fall back. And that's easy to do. Our power play has been relatively good. But we can't just sit here. What if our power play isn't as good next year? Can we sit on it for the next five years? Probably not. Part of that challenge will be on me."



Is Cammalleri's history of injuries one of the negatives?



"Well, yes, but it's not a negative to him. It's a negative for the team because we were obviously much better with him in the lineup. Those things happen and there's not much you can do about it. That's his history, but he also has a history of performing, scoring goals and being a good playoff performer. So that's part of his history as well.

"You can take all the necessary steps as far as injury prevention, sports science and rehabbing soft tissue. Then something is going to happen. Someone is going to block a shot. Like Ryan McDonagh happened to block a shot the other night. How do you prevent that? We have a sport where there is no out-of-bounds, there is contact and guys are blocking shots with their feet and hands... A lot of teams don't have their best players available for the playoffs. That's the nature of this game right now. It's a hard game. That's why depth and luck are important.

"Cammalleri is in terrific shape and advanced in terms of how he takes care of himself and how he trains. I'm not sure if it's (bad) luck or what happened with his wrist in particular. But I won't go into the next season with Mike Cammalleri thinking, 'Oh, he's only going to play 'x' number of games.' "



Are the playoffs a must for next season?



"We never talked about the playoffs this year so I'm not going to talk about them now for next year. Our goal this summer is going to be the same thing in terms of the type of players we want to either retain or acquire that are going to fit the type of team we want to have. We're trying to build something. To judge a season as a success or failure by the playoffs, we never talked about it this year. The team just played and we had some success. I know one thing. Since we've been eliminated, it (stinks). It's been a long time since I haven't been jn it.

"But the L.A. Kings didn't make the playoffs last year. Nobody really remembers that because they're so good. It's hard to make it. Even a team like that missed. If we make it, hopefully we'll have done it the right way and the next year we don't lose a bunch of players. If you build the right way, once you make it you're going to be a team that has a chance every year. Not by fluke."

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Last summer was an offseason of significant change. Do you anticipate significant changes this offseason?



"The significant change last summer was a new general manager and coaching staff. Obviously some players came in and out and we got a little bit younger. This summer, without having our final meetings, we have a certain idea of what we might (be looking to do).

"Some of these younger players took advantage of an opportunity, but next year is next year. Can they do it again? Can a guy like Adam Henrique do it next year? There are always questions about your team, but this summer will be in the same general direction as last year. We'll see where (Pavel) Zacha and (John) Quenneville are going to be at. We'll see what happens with some younger defensemen and see if we re-sign Schlemko or not. There will be change. We have to change because right now we're not good enough."



Everyone wants to know if Zacha will be in the NHL next season.



"We have to make a decision after (training) camp as to what's best for him and what's best for us. Is it best for him to be with us, depending on what that role is going to be, or is it better to give him another year in junior? We'll have to decide that at that particular point. I'm excited about him. We want the team to get better and more skilled. He happens to have both, which is nice. I think it was the right decision not to play him (here) this year.

"They (Sarnia in the OHL) are done. I'm excited to see him, whether he comes here at some point before the end of the weekend or to Albany (AHL). It would be another step for him in terms of his growth to see where his game is at. Albany is in the playoffs. Some guys that are here are going to be going down as well to perform there. It's an important part of anybody's career path to play in a playoff in the American League or NHL."



Are you happy with the deadline trades you made?



"I think so. You trade your leading scorer at the time (Lee Stempniak), that's difficult as a manager. I've been on other other side. I think it was the right call. I wasn't going to trade Lee for nothing, but when you get a fourth and a second... And a guy like Eric Gelinas I think needed a change. We got a decent pick for Eric as well. (Stefan) Matteau needed a change. It was a left winger for a right winger (Devante Smith-Pelly), which we needed.

"Smith-Pelly has done a pretty decent job for us. We'll see what we're going to do moving forward. He's no different than Kyle Palmieri (restricted free agents). We lost an NHL player in Lee, but picked another up in Smith-Pelly. I think that was important. Smith-Pelly had success immediately and that helped us. To be able to fill that hole with an NHL player and a young NHL player, too, made sense.

"I felt it was important to make every effort to stay in (the playoff race). At the deadline when we were losing like we were, we had to make some sort of a judgement decision. We went right to the end. Where we are now, I'm glad we did it. We have the draft picks and the flexibility to do things."

Rich Chere may be reached at rchere@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Ledger_NJDevils. Find NJ.com on Facebook