The New Jersey Devils season is circling the drain. With 18 games remaining in this forgetful year, fans and management are left with more questions than answers. Currently the Devils are one game over .500 & what flicker of playoff hopes they had now seem like a pipe dream. There are loads of deficiencies in this line-up. We can indict Tom Fitzgerald for not signing a number one goalie last summer, or for mishandling the Jacob Markstom trade this year. And who can forgive him for firing Lindy Ruff so late in the season that not even the second coming of Al Arbour could have salvaged the mess Fitz has on his hands. It will take an aggressive off-season to rebuild the good-will he has lost with the fan base.
Which leads us to the question “who are the New Jersey Devils”? Are they the team last season that burst onto the scene with a plethora of highly skilled high flying players that led the club to its highest point total in franchise history and a 2nd round playoff appearance? Or is it this year's Devils team which is tracking to finish with less than 80 points and missing the playoffs? I believe it is the latter. Throughout the offseason we will dive into all the issues that plague this team and possible fixes for said problems. There is one major problem that we will talk about now.
“News Flash” the Devils are a team loaded with soft players. It seems like a lifetime ago when Scott Stevens laid a colossal hit on Viktor Koslov in game 2 of the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals and then told the entire Detroit Red Wings bench that they were next. One man was capable of putting the fear of god into an entire professional hockey team. Other than the crest on the Jersey there is nothing similar about those Devils and these Devils. The Devils are talented. They have some skilled players. Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier are a one, two punch capable of rivaling the Toews, Kane tandem of a decade ago. Timo Meier can fill a typical power forward role and recently seems to be finding his groove with this team. If those men are ever going to hoist the cup, the players around them need to get an update. The game plan for opposing teams is simple… get physical with the Devils early and they will play on tilt. It’s a recipe that's led to NJ becoming an embarrassment in the NHL. So, what does New Jersey need? You can argue that maybe they should call up some younger guys who can play with an edge ie- Nolan Foote. I am not against a move like that but is it worth it just to attempt to hold serve the last 5 weeks of the season? For this problem to be fixed Tom Fitzgerald will have to shake things up and get very aggressive.
Jesper Bratt just recently signed an eight year deal worth $63 million.That's some serious scratch for a guy who has scored just two goals in the last 17 games. What exactly is Jesper Bratts role with this team? He is a highly skilled forward with blazing speed and great puck handling abilities but he is in no way a superstar. When faced with situations where the Devils needed a guy in his spot to carry the team on his shoulders he has shown over and over again that he just isn’t capable of that.
If Tom Fitzgerald would like to keep his job for the foreseeable future guys like Bratt need to go. If the number one priority this offseason is getting a true starting caliber goaltender in NJ then priority number two should be getting Brady Tkachuk out of Ottawa. The Devils have assets and getting the Senators to part with their captain and best player isn't going to be easy, but Jesper Bratt is a pretty good bargaining chip to start with. This season Brady has 27 goals for 52 points, compared to Bratts 22 goals for 64 points. Brady Tkachuk plays with grit and snarl that the Devils desperately need. If the Devils need to sweeten the deal they have plenty of prospects to send up North. Another chip Fitzgerald could use is Dawson Mercer. Mercer is due for an extension this summer and I believe the Devils should not be locking him up longterm just yet. Mercer is in his 3rd year and his numbers have declined dramatically. Last season saw Mercer with career highs in goals 27 and assists with 29. Juxtapose that with this season where he is on pace to play all 82 games and sits with 16 goals, 11 assist for 27 points. If a deal for a physical forward is predicated on Dawson Mercer leaving NJ Tom Fitzgerald should not be afraid to pull the trigger.
Someone once told me that sometimes you have to lose something to gain something. That might never be truer than this off season for the Devils. The Devils can also explore free agency for a player. Tyler Bertuzzi will be a UFA this summer and if he has a playoff for the Maple Leafs like he had for the Bruins last year I don't expect him to be available for long. This summer will show the hockey world whether or not Fitz has the chops to take this team to the promised land. Yes, they need defensive help. Yes, they need a goalie. Yes, they need to find the right head coach. Yet, none of those things will matter if you can't defend yourself and give it back to the opposition every once in a while. This Devils team will never be “The Broad Street Bullies” but, you also can not continue being the Ice Capades. If the plan is to maximize the prime years of our core group then this has to be the last season the Devils miss out on the playoffs. Nico Hischier has played in the NHL for 7 years with 2 playoff appearances for a total of 17 playoff games. Jack Hughes is in his 4th year with only 1 playoff appearance. The team revolves around those two but they can’t do it alone. Grit and physicality is what wins Stanley Cups. What we have seen from New Jersey this season is what gets General Managers fired.
