After six long years at the helm of the New Jersey Devils, Tom Fitzgerald was let go as the organization thought it would be best to go in a different direction. Almost as quickly as the news hit about the Devils moving on from Fitzgerald, rumors started to swirl about his possible replacements. The name that has quickly come front and center is Brendan Shanahan.
Devils fans should know that name very well. He was originally a Devils draft pick in 1987, second overall. Shanahan was the very first draft pick of former Devils General Manager, Lou Lamoriello. After a few seasons in New Jersey, Shanahan famously signed as a restricted free agent contract with the St. Louis Blues.
Everyone knows what happened next. Scott Stevens was awarded to the Devils as compensation. Multiple Stanley Cups. The Devils have been on the NHL map ever since as a winning franchise.
That title was lost over time, however. The Devils have slowly lost their muster when it comes to winning in the NHL. Credit to Fitzgerald, the Devils in recent years have had those lofty expectations that were lost for the better part of a decade since Lamoriello left for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Who did Lamoriello join in Toronto? Brendan Shanahan.
Shanahan spent the last 11 seasons as the President of Hockey Operations of the Maple Leafs. In those 11 seasons, the Maple Leafs went from a perennial bottom-feeder to a team with lofty expectations with a core of high draft picks.
Sound farmiliar?
The parallels of the Toronto Maple Leafs and New Jersey Devils over the last decade are there. Both teams had young cores, won a playoff round, ran into their kryptonite, and overcorrected.
Now, neither team is in playoff contention, with the Maple Leafs officially eliminated and the Devils about one loss away. The reason why Shanahan is no longer the President of the Maple Leafs could go back to his indecisiveness.
One of the main criticisms of Shanahan was that he did not want to move on from the core of the Maple Leafs until it was too late. When the Maple Leafs should have traded Mitch Marner before his no-movement clause kicked in, and they decided not to. They eventually lost Marner to free agency for Nicolas Roy and then flipped Roy.
The lack of activity when you need to make a move to shake things up is not only the main reason Shanahan was let go, but it could be the reason why Fitzgerald was let go, too. The lack of decision-making doomed the Devils when Jack Hughes went down with an injury for the third year in a row.
If Shanahan gets the job, can he put to use what he learned in Toronto? When a tough decision needs to be made, can he trust the General Manager to make the decision? He did not in Toronto, which cost the Maple Leafs General Manager, Kyle Dubas, his job.
Now that Dubas has the freedom to make decisions without the approval of a President, the Penguins have thrived. It has taken a year or two since he got there, but the Devils' division rival is reaping the rewards and is close to playoff-bound.
If Shanahan did not learn from his time and demise in Toronto and brings the same mistakes as he made, then, in New Jersey, fans should be ready to enjoy a lot of regular-season success. Just do not expect much when it comes to the playoffs.
The Devils have a built in core, something that Shanahan had to help build in Toronto. A former number one overall pick American-born center, a top-of-the-line Swedish winger, and a defensive-minded captain center that can contribute on the offensive side.
The hard work has already been done for Shanahan. Since he is not emotionally connected to this core, the call to move on from someone in it could be easier than with the Maple Leafs.
Whoever the Devils bring in next will have to oversee one of the most important offseasons in franchise history. If Shanahan has learned from his mistakes and can bring his experience to New Jersey, he is the perfect hire.
If he learned nothing, the Devils could end up in the same place they currently are for the next decade.