The New Jersey Devils announced they were going to be donation thousands of tickets to health care workers when we finally play hockey again. It’s another instance of the Devils getting good publicity during the quarantine.
The New Jersey Devils started the quarantine with some terrible publicity when they announced they were going to ask their employees to take a paycut to save their jobs. It did not take long for them to learn that billionaire owners asking people likely working paycheck to paycheck to take a paycut would go over terribly. It took the Devils just a few days to not only announce they would reverse that decision, but they apologized for ever bringing it up.
It was the best the Devils have looked in a long time. After a season where they fired head coach John Hynes, then traded their superstar and only former MVP Taylor Hall, followed by firing their general manager, and finally sending their captain Andy Greene to the New York Islanders and fan favorite Blake Coleman to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the same day. To say this season, which once had so much hope, ended terribly is an understatement.
The latest in the “Devils doing good” comes as the team announced they would be donating 10,000 tickets to health care workers in New Jersey. The tickets will go to workers at RWJ Barnabas, probably the biggest sponsorship partner with the team locally. This comes after the team send thousands of gloves and hand sanitizer units to the health system for frontline workers.
The Devils have tickets to spare. It is what it is. They aren’t a team that sells out, so they can spread out those 10,000 tickets. They’ve asked season ticket holders to donate some of their own tickets to help the health care workers. We honestly wish that part of the story got more publicity, since these are the people who don’t make the kind of money that NHL owners make. If you know a season ticket holder who’s donated to frontline workers, give them a pat on the back for us when all this is over.
Devils president Jake Reynolds gave a nice statement to show we’re all in this together:
"“Each passing day we are filled with more gratitude for frontline health care workers who continue to dedicate themselves to help the residents of New Jersey, and we are humbled and honored to show our appreciation for them with these new team initiatives.”"
The Devils are really hitting the positive publicity trail harder than any NHL team. Honestly, it’s once again a really smart move by ownership. That’s a way to build new fans, and some people looking to watch new sports after this quarantine, the Devils might be the top of some people’s list to root for. Great job by everyone involved.