On today’s New Jersey Devils Daily, how close Alex Kerfoot came to coming back to New Jersey and the surprising reason he left, what Jimmy Hayes could bring to the team’s bottom six and the Devils treat its fans really well.
The New Jersey Devils made a surprise move this week, signing former Boston Bruins bust Jimmy Hayes. Pucks and Pitchforks’ Tyler Kelley looks into the signing, seeing a player who can immediately make a difference at right wing. If Hayes can make this team out of training camp, he has good upside to be a nice comeback story. He could play a similar role that P.A. Parenteau played last season.
New Jersey Devils: Jimmy Hayes Invited to Camp on PTO
Chris Ryan with NJ.com looked into what caused Alex Kerfoot to sign with the Colorado Avalanche. The former Harvard standout was seriously considering the Devils, which would contradict some reports. He says that the Devils actually had too much to compete with at center. Kerfoot wanted a shot at the NHL this season, and I can’t argue with the fact that Colorado probably gives that too him more than New Jersey does, especially at center.
How close did Alex Kerfoot come to signing with the Devils?
Ryan also took an interesting look at the coaches and front office people around the league with Devils ties. There are the obvious ones like Lou Lamoriello in Toronto and Martin Brodeur in St. Louis. There’s also some that fell under the radar like Jamie Langenbrunner in Boston and Kirk Mueller in Montreal.
Former Devils coaching or managing around NHL
We’ve talked about the NHL fan survey before, but Yahoo Sports’ Puck Daddy blog looked into it. Yes, the Devils are the second best in-arena experience in the New York area, but the most surprising stat is how well the Islanders did. The team is getting kicked out of the Barclay’s Center, but as of now they have the fourth best experience in New York. The Islanders beat teams like the Rangers, Yankees, Knicks and even its arena-mate the Brooklyn Nets. Seems the old hate towards the Barclays Center has subsided for hockey fans.
NHL rules in sports fan satisfaction survey, save for Philadelphia
Out of the complete blue yesterday, the New Jersey Devils changed the time for its home opener. The NHL moved the game against the Avalanche up to two in the afternoon on October 7th. It would be a really weird decision coming from the organization itself, since this will likely make it harder for some people to see the game, but the NHL making the decision is a real head scratcher. John Fisher with All About the Jersey looks into this decision.