Pucks and Pitchforks
Fansided

New Jersey Devils: Hello, Mr. Ray Shero, Are You There?

By Charlie Borges Jr.

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - SEPTEMBER 20: Ray Shero addresses the media prior to the game between the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers at the Prudential Center on September 20, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - SEPTEMBER 20: Ray Shero addresses the media prior to the game between the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers at the Prudential Center on September 20, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Two months ago, expectations were sky high for the New Jersey Devils. The additions of P.K. Subban, Nikita Gusev, and Jack Hughes seemed to put the New Jersey Devils back into the playoff conversation. Jesper Boqvist was going to provide a boost to a team that also added gritty veteran Wayne Simmonds.

The makeup of the roster was a healthy mix of young budding stars and dependable well-known NHL names. The only question mark seemed to be the goaltending. Mackenzie Blackwood and Cory Schneider were the two going into the season and was the team’s glaring Achilles heel. However, they both showed they can perform at the end of the 2018-19 season. Even with this, the Devils were the most exciting team going into this season.

Then reality came and reared its ugly head. The team could not hold a lead for anything in the early parts of the year. Lead after lead, last-minute goals in a period after last-minute goal, breakdown after breakdown. Then two games in a row were won. The first being against the hated New York Rangers and the next being the First Hughes Bowl against the Vancouver Canucks. Positivity seeped into the mindset of the team and the fanbase. What followed were three more losses. But perseverance came back and the Devils took two more victories to try and get back into the hunt before it was just too much to come back.

While the team is operating at a .500 NHL team their last ten games, it does not feel that way. The two wins in the last six games came against the other worst team in the league in the Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Canadiens. The Red Wings game was a 5-1 blowout win and showcased this team had a little life in it. The only reason why the Devils beat the Canadiens is because of Carey Price and his incredible struggles. The Canadiens had over eighty(!) shot attempts. The Devils should have lost that game. Then came the second date with the New York Rangers.

November 30th, 2019 will be a day that sticks with fans for awhile. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports the Devils are listening to offers for superstar winger Taylor Hall. The superstar who should be the next captain seems to be on his way out. Later, the Devils were embarrassed, for what seems to be the hundredth time on home ice. This 4-0 loss is worse than the home opening loss to the Winnipeg Jets. The power play was extinct even though they had eight chances to score on it. The offense 5v5 was not there. There seems to be no answers from anyone.

More from Pucks and Pitchforks

Chants of “Fire Hynes” could be heard on the live broadcast. While fans have been clamoring for this move for a bit, this is the first time the movement has been literally this loud. The fanbase in New Jersey is one of the most passionate in all of the NHL. When the two loudest chants of the day at the Prudential Center are “Let’s Go Rangers” and “Fire Hynes”, it is a down right embarrassment. Ray Shero has to do something.

The only two moves the Devils have made this season were having Assistant GM Tom Fitzgerald behind the bench for a few weeks and sending Schneider down to the AHL. Obviously, Schneider was and is not the only issue. The time to make a move, whether it be behind the bench or to add another weapon to try and salvage what this season, is right now. The road schedule in December is not easy. It starts with a game at Buffalo. Where they were ran over, backed up on, and run over again earlier in the season.

Shero should be working the phones as we speak. Whether that be on the phone with another team or another coach to take over for Hynes. From the looks of things, this team will not be successful with him behind the bench. Recent losses are met with the same tired answers of “We just didn’t have it tonight” or “Mental mistakes killed us”. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different outcome. It seems as if the Devils players and their fanbase have lost all sanity.

Ray Shero seems to be completely absent and showing way too much trust with this head coach. So the question needs to be asked, Mr. Shero, are you there? Can the Devils fan base count on you to make the right move and to do it before it is too late? Can the Devils season even be saved? Only time will tell, and for Ray Shero the clock is ticking.

Home/Editorials