Monday, January 13, 2020

The Devils Rebuild

The other day, the New Jersey Devils bottomed out, losing 6-3 their most hated rivals, the New York Rangers, a.k.a. The Scum.

They had already fired head coach John Hynes, who had utterly failed. Alain Nesreddine is the interim head coach.

Then they traded away their best player, former Hart Trophy (NHL Most Valuable Player award) winner Taylor Hall.

Now, they have fired general manager Ray Shero, who has also failed. Tom Fitzgerald is the interim GM: Once a fine player, he helped the New York Islanders reach the 1993 Conference Finals, and the Florida Panthers reach the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals, and served as the 1st Captain of the Nashville Predators.

And in their last 2 games, the Devils have gone to Washington and beaten the Cup-contending Capitals (2018 Cup winners, current Metropolitan Division leaders and Eastern Conference co-leaders), and come home, and beaten the Cup-contending Tampa Bay Lightning (2015 Cup Finalists, currently 2nd place in the Atlantic Division).

They've taken it all apart, and beaten 2 of the best teams in the league. Strange how that works sometimes.

There is no indication that a permanent head coach, or a permanent general manager, is about to be hired. Devils owner Josh Harris may be content to let The Nez & Fitz Show finish the season, which seems to be lost, anyway.

But it feels like the Devils' chances to make the Playoffs the next season have gotten a lot better.

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