The New Jersey Devils are at a major crossroads this season. While the organization has not said it, unlike Keith Pelley in Toronto, this is the most important hire or hires in the David Blitzer, Josh Harris era as owners of the Devils. This team is way too good to miss the playoffs again, as they are getting lapped by a field of teams that went through years of rebuilding.
The Writing Was on the Wall for Tom Fitzgerald To Lose His Job in New Jersey
As we saw earlier in the week, the New Jersey Devils and Tom Fitzgerald decided it was best for business for him to step down as President of Hockey Operations and General Manager. Taking no action when action was called for did Fitzgerald in. Sometimes he was a little too passive when he needed to be aggressive.
The belief in his core was ultimately his downfall. Among other things, like not trading for Quinn Hughes. But you can find more on that on DevilsNation.com.
So, with an opening or a couple of openings, where do the Devils turn in terms of fixing their hockey operations department?
As reported on FullPressMedia and NHLRumors.com, there is a prevailing belief that a new direction will be charted by someone outside the organization. It will be a two-tier system in New Jersey with a President of Hockey Operations and a General Manager. Expect Brendan Shanahan to get a call to run the hockey ops department.
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Again, multiple insiders from Frank Seravalli to Darren Dreger, and now Elliotte Friedman, have linked Shanahan to the Devils. He has been around the organization more than normal recently. Outside of being there for one of his teammates, John MacLean, when he went into the Devils Ring of Honour, there was probably another reason why Shanahan was there.
So it would make sense given his ties to the organization in the past. So, if Shanahan is brought in as the President of Hockey Operations, who would he hire, or would the Devils hire collectively as the general manager?
As Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic and TSN noted, the Devils are in an attractive position with the core group they have assembled. They have permission to speak to Florida Panthers Assistant General Manager Sunny Mehta. Mehta is a Jersey-born and raised, and worked in the Devils analytics department from 2014-2018. He is part of the group that put together the Panthers’ back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions.
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So it makes sense, given the way the league is heading in terms of mixing data and old-school thought, that Mehta is at the top of the list. Same for Tyler Dellow. He held a higher-up role in the New Jersey Devils organization as their VP of Analytics. He’s now in Carolina as an assistant GM. Ryan Martin, who spent almost two decades as an assistant General Manager with the Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers.
Of course, guys like Marc Bergevin, Ryan Hardy, Brandon Pridham, Evan Gold (Boston Bruins), Rich Peverly, Jason Spezza, and maybe someone like Doug Armstrong could be brought in. We know Chris Pronger‘s name is gaining steam out there.
But what about guys who have built teams like Mark Yannetti (Director of Amateur Scouting of the Los Angeles Kings), Ross Mahoney (Washington Capitals assistant general manager), Martin Madden (Anaheim Ducks Assistant General Manager and Director of Amateur Scouting), and Mike Futa?
All of them have excellent track records in scouting, drafting, and developing. They have an eye for talent and can mix new-school thought with old-school thought. The pool is massive, which brings us to former New Jersey Devil and current assistant general manager and player personnel Jamie Langenbrunner.
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Whether it is an agenda to get his name out there or there is a belief in NHL circles that he is ready, Langenbrunner has worked his way up in the Boston Bruins organization over the course of 11 years. He spent four years as Director of Player Development & Player Personnel Advisor. As Elliotte Friedman reported on the 32 Thoughts Podcast on Friday, he interviewed with the Nashville Predators about their opening.
Everyone, of course, wonders about Martin Brodeur. The sense is the organization may not want to lean in that direction, but keep him on that way; it isn’t a situation playing out in Detroit with Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings. Hard to get rid of a guy who won Stanley Cups for the organization and is a Hall of Famer.
However, what happened on Monday is just the beginning. More changes are coming. But the New Jersey Devils are charting a new course, which has been needed for a couple of years now.
