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New Jersey Devils: Ray Shero Finally Speaks, But Doesn’t Say Much

By Nick Villano

CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 23: General manager Ray Shero of the New Jersey Devils looks on from his team's draft table during Round One of the 2017 NHL Draft at United Center on June 23, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 23: General manager Ray Shero of the New Jersey Devils looks on from his team's draft table during Round One of the 2017 NHL Draft at United Center on June 23, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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All season, New Jersey Devils fans wanted general manager Ray Shero to address the season that’s plagued this team. He finally talked to NHL.com, but didn’t say much to ease the issues.

NHL.com’s Mike Morreale finally got what we’ve all been waiting for; answers from New Jersey Devils general manager Ray Shero.

Morreale did a good job asking Shero the questions we all wanted to know about. He asked him about John Hynes job status, the lack of free agency acquisitions, and what to do with Taylor Hall in the offseason.

While Shero did have some good things to say about Hall, basically confirming the second the season ends they will try to negotiate and that Hall was okay with his benching the other night. Besides that, we got the answers we expected. That just isn’t good enough when this team is in a total freefall.

We’ll get more into detail, but generally Shero seems happy with the direction of the Devils. This is despite the team’s last loss dropping them to 10-13-6. They’ve lost 10 of their last 12 contests, and every time they take a step forward, they take five steps back.

Despite all the issues, the Devils seem to keep things status quo. We hear from the players about how disappointed they are in how the season is going, but we’ve heard more positivity than negativity from the Devils brass, including coach Hynes.

This season deserves some negativity. The goalies have regressed in a way that’s beyond words. Keith Kinkaid carried the Devils to the playoffs at the end of the season, yet this season he can’t make a save when the Devils need it. Despite that, Shero spread more cheer when it came to the goalies. When asked about his assessment of Cory Schneider and Kinkaid, he went on to say this:

"Sometimes it comes down to the player and the player needs to make a difference."

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Sure. Schneider’s .862 save percentage is worse than every single qualified goalie. Kinkaid has three shutouts from when he was playing better, yet still has a .903 save percentage. Only the Philadelphia Flyers have a worse team save percentage. At least they have Carter Hart waiting in the wings.

Generally, I agree with Shero’s assessment for the future. It’s true that the Devils outlook for the next few years will be good if they make the right decisions. It’s possible that having a basement level season was always part of the plan. Who knows, maybe he really does want to lose for Hughes. However, it would be nice to hear the plan.

Many fans are happy to hear from Shero. He gave generic enough answers that fans can make their own assumptions. That’s usually good enough for fans, as long as they hear that a plan is in place. For this fan, I was hoping to hear a little more.

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