At a recent season ticket holder event, New Jersey Devils General Manager Sunny Mehta held a Q&A with Devils radio play-by-play man Matt Laughlin and had a lot to say. While he spoke on the team and the plans for the offseason, Mehta said a lot of nothing in the session. By saying he said nothing, it means he said exactly what he was supposed to say and nothing that would set the world on fire.
""I think there's clearly been a hurdle that this team hasn't been able to get over and I really believe we are poised to get over it. I really do.""Sunny Mehta, Devils GM
The one thing that Mehta pointed out is that the Devils have clearly had a hurdle in front of them that they have not been able to clear in recent years. While it is not one individual hurdle, it is multiple hurdles that Mehta's predecessor has never addressed.
When Jack Hughes cut himself at a team dinner, and it was announced he would be out for an extended period of time, the only thing Devils fans could think of was: "Here we go again".
The main hurdle that has hurt the Devils the last few seasons has been the health of Jack Hughes. The teams success rides and dies on the health of its superstar. For the third year in a row, Hughes was injured for an extended period of time. That is hurdle number one.
Hurdle number two was the inactivity of then General Manager Tom Fitzgerald. You will never be able to replace the production of Jack Hughes. In the same breath, Fitzgerald never made a move to even try.
In 2023-24, it was Chris Tierney who saw third-line center minutes. In 2024-25, it was Justin Dowling. This past season it was Juho Lammikko and Luke Glendening
If you forgot that any four of those players were even New Jersey Devils at one point, you could be forgiven. None of them even became close to making a dent on the offensive side of the puck. The lack of activity from Fitzgerald doomed the Devils three seasons in a row.
In a perfect world, Jack Hughes will stay healthy for the entire season. The reality is, Hughes is going to miss some games at some point. Waiting for him to become healthy again or hoping journeymen can help with the offensive production is not a recipe for success. How can we tell? Tom Fitzgerald is out of a job in New Jersey and cannot get a job anywhere else.
There is a fine line between overreacting and seeking reinforcements. Fitzgerald only traded for Cody Glass during the 2024-25 Trade Deadline. While Glass has been great as a bottom-six center with the Devils since he came here, he also has his own injury problems.
Sunny Mehta can learn from Fitzgerald's failures and realize that one of the hurdles that has plagued the Devils for the last few seasons is completely avoidable. Sitting on your hands and hoping things become okay again is not how you succeed at the NHL level in this day in age.
The other hurdle is Jack Hughes staying healthy. That is something that is out of Mehta's and, in fairness, Fitzgerald's control.
It's the lack of response that Fitzgerald made that Mehta should learn from. Otherwise, his tenure may be shorter than he or Devils fans would like to think.
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