New Jersey Devils: Three Reasons Ray Shero Firing Was Strange
3. Team has been playing well
The New Jersey Devils were in the middle of a good stretch of play ahead of the Ray Shero firing. They were 5-3-2 in their last ten games going into it. They dropped the puck against the Tampa Bay Lightning who is one of the league’s best teams an hour after the firing. The night before, they defeated the Washington Capitals by a final score of 5-1. Washington is also one of the best teams in the league so the Devils defeating them looked really good.
They have been a solid team since the Taylor Hall trade and the John Hynes firing. Nico Hischier has taken over the team in the meantime. Hischier was a Shero move during the 2017 NHL Draft. It was between him or Nolan Patrick at the number one overall pick and Hischier has been a significantly better player than Patrick. It hasn’t been all good as far as building the team for Shero but some of his recent moves were starting to pan out just as he was fired.
Normally, a team is in a major slump or in the season is over when they fire the GM. In this case, they fired him in the middle of a stretch in which the team is playing well. Obviously, it is important for this team to keep playing well despite all of the distractions the management group has created. They are not going to make the playoffs but they can go into 2020-21 feeling good about themselves.
Related Story. Ray Shero is out as Devils GM rapid reaction. light
It was a strange move all around when the Devils fired Shero. Not many people saw it coming but it is the result now. The only thing fans can hope for now is that whoever comes in full time will get this team where it needs to be. Shero has left behind the start of a nice young core but it is up to whoever comes in to supplement it.