Revisiting 5 Biggest New Jersey Devils Storylines of 2020

The GM Search

Ray Shero was supposed to be the right man to take over the legacy of Lou Lamoriello. It was clear the Devils and the man who built this team into the legacy it was needed a breakup. Sometimes people just get too comfortable. Still, Devils fans hoped they wouldn’t go from a GM that stayed for more than two decades to a GM that didn’t last five seasons. Well, Shero made some major mistakes, rubbed some people the wrong way, and when he finally took his big shot, he missed.

Then, one of the strangest searches for a GM commenced. It seemed like everyone’s name was being tied to the job. Famed NBC analyst and expert on knowing where a player spent juniors Pierre McGuire was tied to the job. Former Canucks execute Mike Gillis was tied to the job. Martin Brodeur’s name was floated as a possibility. The guy Brodeur eventually replaced in Sean Burke was a name floated by analysts, which would have been funny to see Brodeur work for the guy who’s net he took.

The job eventually went to Tom Fitzgerald. He was the man who took charge after Shero left in January. However, the Devils waited until July 9th to take the interim tag off Fitzgerald. It was the right move, as Fitzgerald deserved a general manager’s job, he was a name floated for other jobs around the league, and the Devils already saw how he operated. Also, it meant they could keep a lot of the staff that had been working on scouting the NHL Draft.

Fitzgerald has a lot of work to do, but at least Shero left him with one of the best young cores in hockey.