12 Days Of New Jersey Devils Christmas
By Nick Villano
On the ninth day of Christmas the Devils gave to me… nine wins in March.
This doesn’t have to be March. It can be January. Or February. Heck, let’s find a way to win nine in December. The Devils fans just deserve a nine win month. Full disclosure, March just works better with the song.
It’s a tall task, and might ruin the Lose for Hughes proposition, but if we learned anything it’s that the lottery is unpredictable. Winning might be more important long term.
If the Devils win nine games in a month, it provides hope. The Devils were never going to win the Stanley Cup this season. They didn’t do enough in the offseason to get better from what they were last season. However, there’s a lot riding on this upcoming offseason that having a good month could make easier. Obviously, the Taylor Hall contract negotiations start the second the season ends. If he sees this team as an eventual winner, then that makes that process smoother.
Shero says he wants to make this an eventual Stanley Cup contender. Some may question his methods after doing nothing this offseason, but it might be part of the plan. However, the plan also had improvement from the young players on this team with increased ice time. Winning will help that confidence level, and could propel them for their entire careers.
A nine win month seems like a long shot right now, but it’s not out of the question. The Devils had three eight win months last season, and a lot of that had to do with the man between the pipes getting scorching hot. Right now, Keith Kinkaid and Cory Schneider are not very good, but we’ve seen them turn it around before. If they do it again, a nine win month can happen.