Hall of Fame writer Larry Brooks of the New York Post usually doesn’t pay the New Jersey Devils too much mind, especially this season with the New York Rangers dominating and the Devils fighting to stay out of the basement. However, there was an interesting footnote in the latest article from Larry Brooks, saying the Devils pushed to have Jack Hughes represent the team in the All-Star Game over Jesper Bratt.
The article came with a jab after the revelation, which was assured to Brooks by “more than one individual”.
"“Because it sure sounds like something the organization that seems more heavily invested in social media than in building a winning operation would do.” — Larry Brooks, NY Post"
Eek, that’s a shot right to the bow of the Devils. We’re not saying they don’t deserve it, and it would honestly make a lot of sense for the Devils to push behind the scenes for Jack Hughes to head to the All-Star Game. While Bratt definitely deserves to make it to the game, Hughes is the player that was going to steal headlines, and that’s all the Devils can get out of the All-Star Game.
Sure, Bratt might have been able to do a few things in the game itself to get people excited, but the personality of Hughes is what the Devils want to build their brand on. He was there with Trevor Zegras of the Anaheim Ducks, a player he is friends with. They went head to head in the shootout challenge, and they both stole the show.
If the Devils did push for Hughes to make the All-Star Team over Bratt, it was the right decision. Some might say that Tom Fitzgerald needs to push harder to make the roster better now over worrying about the coverage the Devils get, but if the Devils can build more stars, they will get more coverage. And more coverage comes with more publicity. More publicity means more players paying attention to what they are doing.
It stinks for Bratt, who absolutely deserved an All-Star bid. However, these are business decisions. Hughes in the All-Star Game was a business decision. Now, the front office can focus on the trade deadline and all the changes that are coming for this team in the future.