A couple of weeks ago, the New Jersey Devils shocked the hockey world by parting ways with then General Manager Ray Shero and naming longtime Shero protege Tom Fitzgerald in his place on an interim basis. The move came at a time where the team was just starting to get into a groove right before the All-Star Break, confusing just about everyone. Owner Joshua Harris stood with Fitzgerald in front of the media to try to explain the reasoning behind the divorce. Harris basically gave the same old cliché answers that you would expect from someone in the hockey world. To sum it up, “We’re just not getting it done”.
The Devils have “not got it done” in a long time. If getting it done is winning the Stanley Cup, it is coming up on twenty years(!). If it is in reference to consistent playoff appearances, they have not made the playoffs in consecutive years since the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. Ray Shero made the moves, but for some reason it just never clicked. He had a 25% success rate on getting the Devils to the playoffs. After the barren wasteland that Lou Lamoriello left, Shero seemed to have done well. There was no chance for him to have a consistent contender within a couple of years of the oldest roster in the NHL in 2014-15. But alas, he had one year where he did it. But it still wasn’t enough.
In a society where winning is everything and patience is incredibly thin, some could say Ray Shero never got a true attempt. Josh Harris and David Blitzer made a clear statement that winning was needed and it was needed immediately. Well, since the firing the Devils have been outscored 25-14 and have a 1-3-1 record. This isn’t including the Tampa Bay Lightning game that came mere hours after Shero’s firing. It also looks better now that the Devils put up five goals of their own last night against Nashville. The “getting it done” still isn’t happening and it doesn’t look like it will be anytime soon. But there are some moves that Tom Fitzgerald can make to help the Devils to “win now”.
Now the “win now” is incredibly stretched. There are a few moves that he should make that he can’t until the offseason. So Harris and Blitzer need to be even more patient for these moves to take place. Even if these moves are made it isn’t a guarantee that the Devils will win now. We’ve seen that this season. After all of the positive moves Shero made, the Devils are at the bottom. It is possible that it helps and also possible that it doesn’t work out. In any case, here are five moves the New Jersey Devils can make to help the cause to “win now”.