New Jersey Devils Eat Their Humble Pie

The natives in New Jersey are restless. It doesn’t help matters when the New Jersey Devils have now missed the playoffs three years in a row. However, a team like the Tampa Bay Lightning is back in the Eastern Conference Final after revamping almost all of their roster four years ago.

Imagine what Devils fans felt when Lou Lamoriello announced he was moving upstairs and relinquishing the role of general manager to Ray Shero.

Shero has won a Stanley Cup in this salary cap era where as Lamoriello came up a bit short.

The Last Few Seasons For New Jersey

If you thought the humble pie was bad before, this year and beyond may be worse before it gets any better. There is so much New Jersey has to rebuild.

The last couple years of Lamoriello’s reign were characterized by a stagnant approach. He was stubborn in the way he handled the team, and the game has passed him by to some degree. There is the stone cold reality that Martin Brodeur and Lamoriello probably left a couple years too late, denying the team a chance to rebuild a little bit faster.

Imagine if Cory Schneider was not in net this season. New Jersey would have easily been battling for Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel. When fans of the team watch other franchises heading forward while Jersey is stuck with the status quo, it causes panic.

This only intensified late in 2014-15 when season ticket prices were upped anywhere from 3-12% or more depending on where you sat. The guise was this done to bring prices closer to the NHL average. Remember that a few teams basically inflate the average and you have a pretty good idea of where this is heading.

Fans felt blindsided and with a team that was not getting any better, it was a punch to the gut that was too much for some.

The Devils do have the sixth pick in the draft and a good bit of cap room according to General Fanager. There are several problems going into the 2015-16 season. Even with a lot of cap space to work with, this is a thin free agent class.

When Carl Soderberg of the Boston Bruins is among the top three best free agents out there, that is a major problem for an organization that is looking to add talent. Most free agents this year are 30 or older and for a team that was oldest in the league last season, that is not a good sign.

New Jersey needs to get younger and over the next couple years. They will if they stay the course. It is going to be one painful road, however.

Ray Shero and the Devils

There is a lot of work to do here.

The way this team scouts and drafts players has to be changed. Then development has to be altered in such a way that actual talent can be fostered and then be allowed to thrive on the NHL roster.

Shero has to get the organization moving in the right direction before they can even begin to think about making the playoffs. New Jersey is further away than some teams rebuilding already. The Buffalo Sabres may be closer than the Devils.

Give the Toronto Maple Leafs a year and they may be closer as well. Teams like the Boston Bruins and the Devils are heading downward still and that will not sit well.

Shero has to make tough decisions with Albany and they did just renew their lease for another year. One wonders if the AHL franchise will be moved to New Jersey in due time. That would help shuttle players up and down faster.

Then the scouting staff has to be revamped, whether by early retirement or just gradually bringing in new people. Consider that the staff is probably the oldest in the league as well and then you understand why New Jersey is having systemic problems the way they are. Everything has to be done to get this team into the salary cap era and ready to compete.

When your team cannot muster a player with over 50 points in a season, that is a huge problem.

Goaltending is at least settled, and considering how bad the Devils actually were last year, Schneider should have at least been a finalist in the Vezina Trophy. Remember the first six weeks of the regular season had Bryce Salvador playing 20-plus minutes a night in a league where you need a shred of speed.

He is likely to retire but the damage was done. Shero has to find a way to keep the youthful core growing while adding a few well placed vets. This will not be easy.