As the Devils lollygagged their way through Monday night’s 4-1 defeat to the visiting Islanders in their season finale, the MSG Network announcers attempted to spin a massively disappointing campaign into something positive, as if the regression from last season’s thrilling success would act as a learning experience.
Devils fans everywhere collectively gagged. They know all too well how difficult it can be to turn the ship around after such a season. So do Devils captain Nico Hischier and All-Star Jesper Bratt, who were rookies when New Jersey shockingly qualified for the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs, only to spend the next four seasons mired in Lottery Land.
It would have been one thing if the Devils, who reached the Eastern Conference semifinals after a record-setting regular season a year ago, stumbled in this postseason’s first round, akin to MSG broadcaster Bill Spaulding’s comparison with the 2019 Lightning. This was totally different. This Devils squad allowed a losing culture to seep back in. That has the potential to be irreversible.
Not only did the Devils give up the first goal 57 times in their 82 games, the most of any team since the 2016-17 Avalanche, they surrendered 27 empty net goals, which was one off from what I believe was Detroit’s NHL record from two years ago (The stats I found only went back to 1999-00, but goalies weren’t pulled so early in the old days, when allowing about a dozen such goals was a lot). When you combine all the instances of poor preparation and the epic failure rate from needing an extra attacker 41 times, you can see how that can weigh on this club.
The team that took the ice on Monday night certainly could have used forwards Jack Hughes, Curtis Lazar, and Nathan Bastian as well as defenseman Dougie Hamilton, who were all shut down with injuries, but their returns to the 2024-25 lineup won’t be enough to cover up all the deficiencies that sent this season down the tubes.
The Devils’ record (38-39-5) accurately reflected their performance. Everyone talks about New Jersey’s goaltending—and it was substandard for much of the season—but the team’s five-on-five play looked nothing like the speed-driven force it was a year ago. Instead, General Manager Tom Fitzgerald overreacted to his club’s second round loss to Carolina by going after more of those “hard to play against” types who offer little in the way of offensive creativity and production.
Fitzgerald’s comment during a pregame MSG interview that he is currently engaged with pending unrestricted free agent Kurtis MacDermid spoke volumes about his misguided approach. Sure, let’s bring back a guy who averaged about four minutes of ice time on the nights he acted as a waste of a lineup slot. The MSG broadcasters proceeded to talk about MacDermid’s value in making his teammates feel safer because he supposedly was capable of bringing retribution to opponents who took liberties. Really? If that were true, then why were the Devils 5-11 in the games he was active? Safe and sorry.
Looking at New Jersey’s salary cap situation on CapFriendly.com for next season, it is incredibly top heavy. Their top five forwards plus Hamilton account for 52.5% of the projected $87.5 million cap. Only three other forwards are under contract, with Dawson Mercer the highest priority free agent, though he’s restricted.
Replacing the deadwoods like forwards Tomas Nosek and Chris Tierney plus defenseman Brendan Smith (god willing) will cost some more money, but there should be some wiggle room for Fitzgerald to shop for a goalie this offseason. But at what total cost? Are the Devils willing to give up their first-round Draft pick, which should at worst be in the top 10?
Before that, there is the not-so-small matter of a new Head Coach. Travis Green, who on March 4 replaced Lindy Ruff on an interim basis, did not provide the juice the team needed down the stretch. Instead, the Devils limped home by going 8-12-1, never really challenging for that last Wild Card seed. Along the way, I didn’t notice Green holding anyone other than Alexander Holtz accountable for the litany of mental and execution mistakes that cost this team winnable games. Green said he doesn’t know his status going forward, but the writing is on the wall.
The Devils need a HC who demands excellence and structure, no matter the level of a player’s experience. That includes reining in the Hughes brothers when necessary.
The days where the team’s youth was used as an excuse were supposed to be over after last season. No one should accept this campaign for anything but what it was—downright rotten, not part of a learning process. That goes for management, coaches, and players. Reverting back to those lower standards now only increases the chances that this wasn’t just a bad one-year blip.
There seems to be little accountability in this organization. The Devils have only two playoff appearances under this ownership group, which bought the team back in August of 2013. "Fitzy" has been in the Devils' front office since 2015 (first serving as an assistant GM before being appointed GM in July of 2020). Ownership just gave Fitzgerald a multiyear extension in January despite glaring, continuing failures in goaltending and coaching over Fitzy's tenure. Fitzy has spent several weeks offering a litany of excuses for this past season. He also keeps boasting about last year's 112 point season as if the team won a Stanley Cup instead of getting annihilated by a more committed and better coached team in the Carolina Hurricanes. The organization learned nothing from last year's playoff experience other than to double down on arrogance.
The excuse making / spin from this GM is something to behold. Fitzy's tough talking bravado about going "big game hunting" for a goaltender must sell well to an ownership group that hasn't yet figured out how to field a consistently competitive NHL team despite owning an NHL team for over a decade now. I don't believe the ownership group cares about winning or losing as long as the financial investment keeps paying off them. Losing hockey games doesn't seem to anger them in a way that losing angers truly competitive individuals. That was never more evident than in the decision to waive the white flag at the trade deadline instead of trying to compete for a playoff spot.
I know we are stuck with the ownership group. But Fitgerald should not be entrusted to hire another coach and pursue another goaltender after the multiyear track record he has with those responsibilities.
What an extremely frustrating and disappointing season. It felt like a completely different team this year. I guess I'm going to chalk it up to injuries? Top 10 (possibly top 8?) draft pick is about the only halfway decent thing to come out of this season. And who knows if we actually get to make that pick. I'm actually a little concerned about Fitz and this off-season. He's going to go full "Rangers Tom Wilson Effect" this off-season isn't he? Oh, well at least Green won't be around anymore 🤞 How quickly is the Berube hire announced? I'm glad I found your Substack Steve. Keep up the good work! And even after all of this....LGD 👿!!