Revisiting 5 Biggest New Jersey Devils Storylines of 2020

The New Jersey Devils had quite the year, but like most of us, 2020 was terrible.

2020 was never going to be a banner year for the New Jersey Devils. Right before the New Year, the Devils traded its star player Taylor Hall for prospects and picks, fired its head coach John Hynes, and found themselves well into the basement of the Metropolitan Division. The playoffs were a distant memory, and the moves to add P.K. Subban, Nikita Gusev, and drafting Jack Hughes did nothing to make them a more competitive team. This was a team that needed a reset.

Boy, was there a reset coming.

The Devils quickly learned 2020 would be a year of change. There is so much different about this franchise in the last 12 months. There’s still frustration amongst the fanbase, but the general outlook seems to be better now than when this year started. Maybe that’s because the Devils haven’t played a game yet this season.

Speaking of that, all of the major storylines that impact all the NHL teams are not eligible for this list. The Devils had enough happen this year that specifically impacted them and them only. There won’t be mention of the pandemic cutting the season short, the new CBA, the extra negotiation to get this season restarted, a flat $81.5 million salary cap, or the Devils being without actual hockey for 10 months.

The Devils had quite the year in 2020, but most of us agree that we are more than happy it’s finally over. 2021 has to be better. Not only for us all but for our New Jersey Devils as well.

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.

NHL Trade Deadline

After Hall was traded in December, it became clear the Devils would be selling the farm during February’s trade deadline. Anyone that wasn’t bolted down would be available. There were rumors surrounding everyone that wasn’t Nico Hischier or Jack Hughes. Travis Zajac saw his name in rumors, but he ended up saying he wanted to leave that to the offseason (which was never revisited, so it looks like he’s playing out his final year).

Kyle Palmieri looked like he was on his way out the door, too. He was supposed to get the Devils two 1st-round picks, but his price ended up being too high. Then he was going to be traded in the offseason, and those rumors still exist, but for now, Palms is still in New Jersey.

The Devils did make a lot of moves ahead of the deadline, including one that caused an arbitration fight into the offseason. It started with Blake Coleman, who brought Nolan Foote and a 1st-round pick from the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning. That same day, they traded captain Andy Greene for a 2021 2nd-round pick and prospect David Quenneville.

Then, deadline day was a busy one for Fitzgerald. He ended up trading Sami Vatanen to the Carolina Hurricanes, Wayne Simmonds to the Buffalo Sabres, and Louis Domingue to the Vancouver Canucks. They got back Janne Kuokkanen, Freddy Claesson, a 3rd-round pick, a 2021 5th-round pick, and Zane McIntyre.

It was a lot of additions for the future of the Devils. They are built for the future just like multiple other teams (Kings, Senators, and Rangers come to mind).

Hiring Lindy Ruff

The hiring of Lindy Ruff as head coach was not a popular choice by the New Jersey Devils. The veteran bench boss didn’t have the best endings in Dallas or Buffalo, and he was the defensive coach of the Rangers. The Rangers’ defense was awful. Yet, the Devils were adding him to be the head coach. It was a puzzling move.

The saga went on just like the GM search. There were a lot of names tied to the job. Gerard Gallant seemed to be the one most people were looking for them to hire. Peter Laviolette was a fine second choice. Going for someone outside the box like European coach Rickard Gronberg would be a welcomed addition. Instead, they went back to the well with someone no one was asking for.

Most Devils fans are over their initial hatred of the move and are willing to see what happens. It can’t be denied what Ruff was able to do with Tyler Seguin in Dallas. He can produce offensive stars. Maybe the Rangers just miscast him. There’s no point in hating on the move now. Ruff is 60 years old. His time behind an NHL bench is limited. There’s clearly a long-term plan here. Well, hopefully there’s a long-term plan.

Ruff will be forced to put in a new system on a shortened training camp, but most fans are just happy to have hockey back.

Crazy 1st Round Of NHL Draft

The NHL Draft was supposed to take place on June 26, but because of the pandemic, it was delayed all the way to October 6th. That gave bloggers like us more than three extra months to talk ourselves into prospects, out of those prospects, and back into those prospects again. Things got even more interesting when the Rangers won the number-one overall pick. With the Rangers getting Alexis Lafrenière, the Devils needed to hit on their top draft pick, and more than likely needed to hit a home run on two.

The Devils watched the board fall in a very interesting way. Many people tied the Devils to the two defensemen on the board; Jamie Drysdale and Jake Sanderson. They both ended up going five and six, right before the Devils picked at seven. That left the Devils taking Swedish sniper Alexander Holtz. Despite some very interesting names still on the board (Cole Perfetti and Marco Rossi being the best), this is definitely a pick every Devils fan is happy with now.

Fast forward 10 picks. There weren’t a lot of surprises in the teens. The only real surprise was Dawson Mercer was falling down draft boards. The all-around skater was ranked as the 10th best North American skater, and many expected him to go between 12 and 15. The Devils saw he was still available at 18, and they pounced.

This is where things got interesting. The Rangers traded up to take safe defenseman Braden Schneider (safe as in low downside, not safe as in how he hits). Devils fans were very upset they lost a quality defenseman because the Rangers traded one pick in front of them. The happiness of getting Mercer had subsided. Things would only get worse.

The Devils went completely off the board with the 20th-overall pick. They took Russian defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin. He wasn’t even awake during the pick because he didn’t think he was going in the 1st round. It was clear this was a pick driven by the pandemic. He looked a lot better after the new season started. Either way, the Devils are tied to the lanky defender who still has a few more years of development left.

Overall, the Devils crushed it on the first day of the draft. There were some much safer picks with 20th overall, but the Devils absolutely dominated with their first two picks. Even looking at the Rangers taking Schneider, things would be so much worse if they had Mercer.