RAY SHERO = NEW GM. Coach decision is Shero's.

[MantaRay]

I think this is  a good move, especially with Lou being the President.

 

Shero made some really smart moves in Pitt, but he also had two of the leagues best players that he inherited.

 

Lou is still Shero's boss.   Just hoping Shero has a good eye for prospects at forward.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

This what I meant when I said I really need something to react to (in dr33's thread) before speculating/reacting.  Though it was looking more and more like Lou was going to remain the GM, no one really knew for sure what the future held. 

 

My mentality is pretty similar to a lot of other fans'.  I greatly appreciate everything Lou did.  He'll go down as one of the best GMs ever, especially when one considers that, though he did have higher payrolls than people remember, he was never spending to top-of-the-league levels.  He somehow steered the Devils through a near-mutiny after Stevens was awarded as compensation, from many players on his team and from Stevens himself.  He had GMs calling him in mostly condescending fashion, who were basically saying, "You know Stevens won't ever play for you, so do the right thing and trade him to a real team and we'll try to give you something decent in return."  Lesser GMs might've blinked.  Lou didn't.  He more or less told every GM to fvck off, that Stevens was a Devil and that was that.  He then told the potential mutineers that enough was enough and that they were Devils under contract.  That was really the beginning of Lou's "my way or no way" Devils as far as I'm concerned...sure, we saw some of that before, but I'm still amazed how he got through such a tumultuous offseason.   

 

But more and more it just like Lou's time as GM here needed to be over.  Under the circumstances of the past few seasons, some of which were complicated (Kovalchuk deciding to bail, VBK's finances), I understood most of Lou's moves.  But I've always felt a GM's time with a franchise has run its course when it seems like even the decent "on paper" moves stop working.  As much as I wanted to believe that Lou could somehow turn this around if given the chance, I wasn't feeling terribly hopeful that it was possible, for many reasons which have been extensively covered.  I think it was simply time for new ideas and a different perspective.

 

As for as Shero goes, this is almost like if the Yankees' Brian Cashman eventually gets another GM job where he doesn't get to enjoy spending as twice as much as several other teams.  Shero isn't walking into an ideal situation here.  He's going to have his work cut out for him, and we're going to see what he's made of.  Not saying he's not capable of rebuilding the Devils into a contender, and Shero is young enough and did show enough with Pittsburgh that I do think he's earned a second chance as an NHL GM, and I'm fine with it being here.  The time felt right for a change, and though I can't say I'm outright "glad" about it, I stand behind it.  Looking forward to seeing what comes next. 

Edited May 5, 2015 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[dmann422]

Mixed feelings for me. I'm fine with Lou's stepping down but if its gonna happen part of me would rather rip the band-aid off completely. As Tri noted him as President means he still has some level of control over roster decisions and could lead to conflict in time.

 

Also Shero for me is not a clear upgrade, I guess he did some good things but let us remember he inherited a team with Crosby and Malkin- And to get those guys the Penguins went through one of the toughest stretches in league history and nearly had their team relocate.

 

Thank you Lou for nearly 30 years of solid management. More than Brodeur, Stevens, Daneyko, Elias and all the others, Lou has been the most important component of this franchise's success and is the most significant reason we still have a team in NJ. For that he deserves a lot more than some here give him.

[devilsrule33]

This what I meant when I said I really need something to react to (in dr33's thread) before speculating/reacting.  Though it was looking more and more like Lou was going to remain the GM, no one really knew for sure what the future held. 

 

My mentality is pretty similar to a lot of other fans'.  I greatly appreciate everything Lou did.  He'll go down as one of the best GMs ever, especially when one considers that, though he did have higher payrolls than people remember, he was never spending to top-of-the-league levels.  He somehow steered the Devils through a near-mutiny after Stevens was awarded as compensation, from many players on his team and from Stevens himself.  He had GMs calling him in mostly condescending fashion, who were basically saying, "You know Stevens won't ever play for you, so do the right thing and trade him to a real team and we'll try to give you something decent in return."  Lesser GMs might've blinked.  Lou didn't.  He more or less told every GM to fvck off, that Stevens was a Devil and that was that.  He then told the potential mutineers that enough was enough and that they were Devils under contract.  That was really the beginning of Lou's "my way or no way" Devils as far as I'm concerned...sure, we saw some of that before, but I'm still amazed how he got through such a tumultuous offseason.   

 

 

 

CR, history lesson please. I always heard how pissed Stevens was, but what was going on with players on the Devils team?

[DJ Eco]

If the likes of Hugh Weber and that used car salesman Scott O'Neill are driving hockey operations we are in big trouble. 

 

That's why they let Lou name his successor. Otherwise it would've been Weber and O'Neill on the conference call.

[HellOnICE]

I think this is a great move, it's new, exciting and we are moving into the future. We are moving forward, not sideways. There's a lot of work to do, and it's been getting done. No, not as fast as anyone likes in terms of wins - but the goaltender, the defense, the GM and now the hard work of rebuilding the offense begins. 

 

Shero has a history of success, and of course, made some mistakes - but what GM hasn't? A guy with his success, intelligence with Lou above him I am confident will have learned from his past and be a better manager for it. GMs don't work in a vacuum, we don't know what life was like working under Mario either. 

Edited May 5, 2015 by HellOnICE

[DJ Eco]

Then again, that Ilya contract might be argued by some as being Lou's work and that his lack of vision lead to Parise leaving, but to be honest, I think Vanderbeek wanted a superstar and some pressure was applied on Lou to go and get the guy and even more to sign him at whatever's cost.

 

It was financial, pure and simple. Look at the league now in 2015, how many teams have 2-3 players with $6.5m/year cap hit or more? The money we offered Kovalchuk wouldn't have been a concern on 28 or 27 of the other franchises around the league. Hell, there are teams that are spending 1/4-1/3 of Kovalchuk's total contract on their compliance buyouts.

 

We'd have Parise and Kovalchuk on this team still if Jeff Vanderbeek were on a more solid financial ground, simple as that. The cost was reasonable in today's NHL.

Edited May 5, 2015 by DJ Eco

[HellOnICE]

If Harris/Blitzer were here before 2012, I think Parise is here. Anyway, don't want to get into that. The Cap Recapture was really the point in getting rid of Kovy at the right time unless of course we planned on some sort of "LTIR" in 2022 or whenever that contract ended.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

CR, history lesson please. I always heard how pissed Stevens was, but what was going on with players on the Devils team?

 

The short of it:  Stevens was making considerably more money at that time than many Devils, who basically were taking a "Well, if he's making that much, then I want this much" stand.  Here's some articles on what a mess things were back then: 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/15/sports/pro-hockey-for-devils-hockey-is-a-contract-sport.html  Driver saying a lot of Devils weren't happy with their contracts.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/17/sports/hockey-muller-removes-skates-and-walks-out.html  This was shortly before Muller was then traded for Richer.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/18/sports/hockey-stevens-making-no-plans-to-report-to-the-devils.html  Stevens still having no intention of reporting to the Devils.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/22/sports/hockey-devils-message-no-room-for-rebels.html  Muller taking some shots at the Devils on his way out.

 

Lou also had to deal with potentially not having Sean Burke due to contract issues (Terreri had moved ahead of him anyway, simply by outplaying him, and as we know, Burke did indeed sit out the entire 91-92 season), and then lost John MacLean (one of the dissenters) to an ACL tear in preseason.  Losing MacLean was a killer...he was on a tear that preseason (7 goals in 8 GP), and I think he would've flirted with 50 that season if he had stayed healthy.  He looked terrific that preseason. 

 

Just a very ugly time in Devils' history, but Lou somehow got them through it, and they went on to have a respectable season.  The team went 32-18-7 before fading (they finished 38-31-11), and put up a then-franchise-high 87 point in making the playoffs, and took a superior Rangers team to seven games before losing in the first round.  Messier said the Devils took just enough out of them in that first round to have an affect in their next series against the Penguins (the Rangers lost in six). 

Edited May 5, 2015 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[DevsMan84]

Isn't the Stevens contract with the Blues the point most often used by hockey historians to point out when salaries in the NHL started to spiral upwards?  Also later on I believe there was a short 2-week strike at the end of the 1991-92 season by the players over salaries as well as merchandise rights IIRC.

 

Honestly I can understand Daneyko, MacLean's and others issues with the Devils suddenly bringing in a guy who is making more than twice as much as the next paid guy.  Lead to some moves that in the long run actually put some pieces into place for the 95 run. 

[MadDog2020]

@FriedgeHNIC: Heard Shero's name linked to about four different jobs...none of them NJ. Lamoriello steps upstairs with one last victory over us.

Edited May 5, 2015 by MadDog2020

[Triumph]

I posted a thing over at my blog about Shero, but I'll summarize here - yeah, he had Crosby, and he had Malkin.  And the Penguins didn't leave him totally without players besides them.  But the 2003-04 Penguins were fvcking terrible and the Penguins got almost nothing out of that team in terms of assets, and that's tough to come back from.  I feel like Shero would be looked upon way more favorably had he managed to re-sign Marian Hossa in 2008 - that team would've been incredible.  The Devils are nowhere close to that 2003-04 Penguin team in terms of organizational sh!ttiness.

Edited May 5, 2015 by Triumph

[DevsMan84]

I posted a thing over at my blog about Shero, but I'll summarize here - yeah, he had Crosby, and he had Malkin.  And the Penguins didn't leave him totally without players besides them.  But the 2003-04 Penguins were fvcking terrible and the Penguins got almost nothing out of that team in terms of assets, and that's tough to come back from.  I feel like Shero would be looked upon way more favorably had he managed to re-sign Marian Hossa in 2008 - that team would've been incredible.  The Devils are nowhere close to that 2003-04 Penguin team in terms of organizational sh!ttiness.

 

Doesn't that make things harder for Shero though?  At least the Penguins got #1-3 overall picks for them.  This Devils team was/is bad, but not bad enough to take a player like Eichel or McDavid or any other #1-3 anytime soon.  We seem to be in this sh!t purgatory where we are bad enough to miss the playoffs but not bad enough to get good picks for really any major impact players.  I feel like we are pretty much the same spot as the Rangers were from 98-2004.

[Triumph]

Doesn't that make things harder for Shero though?  At least the Penguins got #1-3 overall picks for them.  This Devils team was/is bad, but not bad enough to take a player like Eichel or McDavid or any other #1-3 anytime soon.  We seem to be in this sh!t purgatory where we are bad enough to miss the playoffs but not bad enough to get good picks for really any major impact players.  I feel like we are pretty much the same spot as the Rangers were from 98-2004.

 

The Penguins were extremely lucky to end up with Crosby and without Crosby - with even anyone else taken in that draft - they'd probably be nowhere close to a Cup team.  The Devils sold players at the deadline this year - they got a 2nd, a 3rd, and a 3rd.  The Penguins got nothing close to that for their garbage players on that 03-04 team.  Yes, they got Crosby, but they immediately had to make a good team around him.  This cost some draft picks, and it's part of why the Penguins aren't all that great now - they've been in win-now mode for 7 years, when they never really had the big asset pool of say, a 1995 Devils team or a 2010s Hawks or Kings team.  Those teams leach away talent every year simply because they can't put it all on the team. 

Edited May 5, 2015 by Triumph

[SterioDesign]

I mean for anyone saying Shero only got lucky to get 2 top talent... he traded for guys like Kunitz, Neal, Guerin, Hossa, Niskanen, Dupuis which all played big roles for the Pens AND he didnt wait til it was too late to fire Therrien that year. Is it Shero's fault that the players didnt get it done? The team surely looked great on paper and that's the best he could do. And he flipped Staal before it was too late since he wanted to play with his brother and not be a 3rd line center anymore, and he got a good return out of it.

 

Sure people will find ways to bash other stuff like his drafting... people defending Lou lately all were playing the "he built a great young Dcorp" which sure its fair but its also overrated, they are not proven yet and not that deep either considering Fraser was playing. Shero did the same damn thing, the D corp in Pittsburgh is top notch PLUS thats not ALL he had to play with.

 

Saying he only won cause he got 2 big talent on his team is lame. And well you know what? We also had 2 top talent on the team and Lou found a way to let them slip. So really not sure why people are Bashing Shero that much.

 

at least wait til he makes one decision before bashing the guy. Nobody wanted Heath Ledger or Jack Nicholson as the Joker  when it was announced based on what they did before and we all know how that went.

Edited May 5, 2015 by SterioDesign

[Mitico12]

How much has the "bad press" Lamoriello has gotten - 1. Law suit / 2. no playoffs / 3. Mike Peluso's speaking to the press about his disdain for Lamoriello had an effect on the accelleration of Lou leaving the position as GM?

[DJ Eco]

How much has the "bad press" Lamoriello has gotten - 1. Law suit / 2. no playoffs / 3. Mike Peluso's speaking to the press about his disdain for Lamoriello had an effect on the accelleration of Lou leaving the position as GM?

 

Eh, I doubt any really. This seems like something that was put into motion 3, 4, maybe 6 months ago.

[slasher72]

How much has the "bad press" Lamoriello has gotten - 1. Law suit / 2. no playoffs / 3. Mike Peluso's speaking to the press about his disdain for Lamoriello had an effect on the accelleration of Lou leaving the position as GM?

For what it's worth, according to Rich Chere, it certainly didn't help and he felt ownership was cognizant of it.

[DJ Eco]

The short of it:  Stevens was making considerably more money at that time than many Devils, who basically were taking a "Well, if he's making that much, then I want this much" stand.  Here's some articles on what a mess things were back then: 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/15/sports/pro-hockey-for-devils-hockey-is-a-contract-sport.html  Driver saying a lot of Devils weren't happy with their contracts.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/17/sports/hockey-muller-removes-skates-and-walks-out.html  This was shortly before Muller was then traded for Richer.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/18/sports/hockey-stevens-making-no-plans-to-report-to-the-devils.html  Stevens still having no intention of reporting to the Devils.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/22/sports/hockey-devils-message-no-room-for-rebels.html  Muller taking some shots at the Devils on his way out.

 

 

Great post 

[StormJosh]

The short of it:  Stevens was making considerably more money at that time than many Devils, who basically were taking a "Well, if he's making that much, then I want this much" stand.  Here's some articles on what a mess things were back then: 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/15/sports/pro-hockey-for-devils-hockey-is-a-contract-sport.html  Driver saying a lot of Devils weren't happy with their contracts.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/17/sports/hockey-muller-removes-skates-and-walks-out.html  This was shortly before Muller was then traded for Richer.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/18/sports/hockey-stevens-making-no-plans-to-report-to-the-devils.html  Stevens still having no intention of reporting to the Devils.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/22/sports/hockey-devils-message-no-room-for-rebels.html  Muller taking some shots at the Devils on his way out.

 

Lou also had to deal with potentially not having Sean Burke due to contract issues (Terreri had moved ahead of him anyway, simply by outplaying him, and as we know, Burke did indeed sit out the entire 91-92 season), and then lost John MacLean (one of the dissenters) to an ACL tear in preseason.  Losing MacLean was a killer...he was on a tear that preseason (7 goals in 8 GP), and I think he would've flirted with 50 that season if he had stayed healthy.  He looked terrific that preseason. 

 

Just a very ugly time in Devils' history, but Lou somehow got them through it, and they went on to have a respectable season.  The team went 32-18-7 before fading (they finished 38-31-11), and put up a then-franchise-high 87 point in making the playoffs, and took a superior Rangers team to seven games before losing in the first round.  Messier said the Devils took just enough out of them in that first round to have an affect in their next series against the Penguins (the Rangers lost in six). 

I just read the article you posted from 1991 about Stevens refusing to report. Holy moly...the whole team was up in mutiny. As someone who started watching the Devils in 1994 it seems like an insane twilight-zone universe in which Lou isn't at the helm of the world's steadiest ship. Daneyko was holding out, Muller walked out, Stevens refusing to even come to New Jersey, arguments over $500,000.... what a time that was

[DJ Eco]

I just read the article you posted from 1991 about Stevens refusing to report. Holy moly...the whole team was up in mutiny. As someone who started watching the Devils in 1994 it seems like an insane twilight-zone universe in which Lou isn't at the helm of the world's steadiest ship. Daneyko was holding out, Muller walked out, Stevens refusing to even come to New Jersey, arguments over $500,000.... what a time that was

 

It's unfathomable to even imagine a Devils fan reading these headlines in 1991 and thinking they're 4 years from a Stanley Cup, and yet somehow it happened.

[BostonNala370]

It's unfathomable to even imagine a Devils fan reading these headlines in 1991 and thinking they're 4 years from a Stanley Cup, and yet somehow it happened.

 

It's unfathomable to even imagine a Devils fan reading these headlines in 1991 and thinking they're 4 years from a Stanley Cup, and yet somehow it happened.

 

What a good point. You never  know

[slasher72]

Now that we're getting nostalgic, here's one from 1982

 

http://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/12/sports/11-names-are-on-ballot-for-jersey-hockey-club.html

[lazer]

the way stevens left as assistant coach while debo was here...

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

I just read the article you posted from 1991 about Stevens refusing to report. Holy moly...the whole team was up in mutiny. As someone who started watching the Devils in 1994 it seems like an insane twilight-zone universe in which Lou isn't at the helm of the world's steadiest ship. Daneyko was holding out, Muller walked out, Stevens refusing to even come to New Jersey, arguments over $500,000.... what a time that was

 

I was already 21 years old when all of this was happening, and it was an awful two weeks.  I remember reading these articles as they were coming out.  The Devils couldn't have felt more minor-league at that point, and if Lou had caved to Stevens and traded him for what likely would've been less-than-equal value, maybe the climb to respectability is that much slower.  I think very few GMs could've navigated those waters as successfully as Lou did. 

Edited May 5, 2015 by Colorado Rockies 1976