New Jersey Devils: Five Likely Reasons Behind Ray Shero’s Firing
By Mike Luci
Setbacks After 2018 Playoff Appearance
Assuming Ray Shero finished out the 2019-20 season, the New Jersey Devils will likely have just one playoff win through five seasons under his watch. To be fair, Shero did inherit an absolute travesty of a roster lacking any team identity and had to establish a new foundation from scratch.
Over the years, Shero constantly reiterated he had a plan in place, hence the term “trust the process,” which has become a trademark slogan among New Jersey Devils fans. When the Devils unexpectedly made the playoffs in 2018, many believed Shero’s vision was coming to fruition.
Expectations were quite high that Shero would have an eventful offseason following New Jersey’s 2018 postseason berth. Between the organization’s abundance of cap space and tradable assets, Shero was expected (and in a perfect position) to make significant improvements and bridge the talent gap between then-league MVP Taylor Hall and rest of the roster.
Shero’s biggest acquisitions that summer were the free agent signings of Egor Yakolev and Eric Gryba, both of whom collectively played 35 contests in 2018-19. Gryba failed to register a point, while Yakolev tallied just two goals and five assists. The Devils would see players like John Moore, Brian Gibbons and Pat Maroon walk as unrestricted free agents, leaving roster openings that would ultimately be filled internally.
It seemed Shero took for granted that healthy seasons from Kyle Palmieri, Marcus Johansson, along with young up-and-comers like Miles Wood, Blake Coleman and Stefan Noesen taking the next steps forward in their development would suffice in lieu of acquiring outside assets, an assertion of which Shero was off by a mile.