2024 Offseason Thread - It’s FINALLY here

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Yes, there’s still 7 games and about two weeks left in this most frustrating season, but if last night didn’t effectively end 2023-24 with absolute finality, I don’t know what else could at this point.

First off, as this is the offseason thread, no more bitching about what happened (or didn’t happen) during this season; we’ve all been airing the same complaints across multiple threads, over and over again, and there’s no DeLoreans equipped with flux capacitors available for Fitz to head back a few months and take a second stab at acquiring a goalie and/or bringing in a legit head coach.

Anyway, so how does Fitz get things back on track?

We know who the untouchables are:  Both Hugheses, Hischier, Bratt, Meier, and Nemec.  Easy to forget about Hamilton, but with four years left on an expensive deal AND the fact that the Devils very obviously missed him, it’s quite clear that he ain’t going anywhere.  Fitz definitely has made it clear that Allen is a part of the 2024-25 and due to Montreal retaining a nice chunk of his money, there’s no reason at all to think Fitz will change course with him.  He’ll be back too.

Starting with the one-year 4th line/forward depth signings from last summer, hard to see Fitz just signing them all again.  I wouldn’t be surprised if none of Willman, Nosek, or Tierney are retained.  Also not convinced that Bastian will be back, as his (former?) pal is gone for good, and not only does he have trouble staying healthy, he seems to do less and less when he’s able to play.

As far as the bottom six goes, Palat and Haula (as long as they’re still here) need to be a part of that group only, as neither should be fixtures on the Top 6, ever.  I don’t care if Jack and Haula like playing together; Haula will forever cost Jack points if they’re stuck on a line together.  And this version of Palat can’t possibly be counted on for anything  remotely close to consistent offense.  He won’t ever live up to his contract and we’ll have to live with it, but I don’t want that fact made worse by him getting Top 6 minutes unless it’s strictly due to multiple injuries.  I know sh!t happened, but is Nolan Foote ever gonna be a “from within” part of this thing or not?  Ditto Clarke.

Outside of the “untouchable” forward group, everyone else is available, AFAIC.  Not saying to just give them all away, but if Mercer’s gotta be the guy who goes in a Saros or Ullmark deal, so be it. If Holtz needs to go as part of a package for a “right now” forward, same deal; I’m not necessarily down on Holtz but at the same time I haven’t truly seen enough to believe that he’s a sure thing to fit right in as a Top 6er who will produce.  He’s too much of a maybe, and based off his year overall I don’t think that trying to remain patient with Holtz in the hope that he might figure it all out is the best way to go.  That’s not to put everything on Holtz himself in the slightest, more that the Devils need immediate help, and I don’t think Alex will bring that.

re:  the D, if the Devils want to move on from Bahl and try to get a more established physical vet to replace him, no arguments.  I know Marino has had a down year but I would like to see what real coaches can do with him; that being said, if he winds up going in any deals to address other needs, can’t say that he should ever be the guy to hold such a deal up.  Siegs has four years left on his contract (at least the hit isn’t prohibitive), so hard to imagine that he’s going anywhere, but at the same time, he seems like a guy who needs to be broken down and built back up.  I’m all for Miller being re-signed as Smith’s replacement, but wouldn’t be surprised to see a team that can offer more guaranteed minutes scoop him up first.  We know the deal with Smith; under NO circumstances can THAT guy be back here.  NO.  fvckING.  WAY.  He sucks so much that he makes other people suck just by skating with them.  It would be nice to just see the fvcker scratched already, but if watching him seven more games means that I NEVER fvckING EVER have to see him wearing a Devils jersey again, I’ll suck it up and relish the countdown to him being a sh!tty footnote in Devils history.

Ditto Groan, as far as that goes.  The team as a whole has managed to look even WORSE under this moron, but what amounts to absolutely Herculean goaltending as of late has propped up his time here.  The Devils get so overwhelmed so often regardless of who the opponent is that I can’t imagine a head coach who could possibly get less out of this team than Groan…he’s even worse than Lindy.  Not only should Groan never ever be a head coach again, I would want him on my staff in ANY capacity.  He’s an absolute loser, a team killer if there ever was one.  He can’t be the guy that Fitz bets his and this team’s future on, no fvcking way.

I really hope it’s Berube who ultimately gets the gig here, but given some of the names available, I’ll settle for any of one of the “Not Groan” crowd.  And hopefully a mostly new lot of assistants; the less zilch holdovers who failed miserably this season still hanging around, the better.  The players aren’t blameless but I’m convinced that the majority of this staff could ruin almost any team that they’re tasked to work with.  The team won’t fully be blown up this season, and I don’t think it should, but when it comes to this “coaching” staff…please Fitz, nothing but scorched earth.

So basically I’m hoping for a legit coaching hire with an almost entirely new staff to support him; I think Brylin getting the Utica HC gig instead of being part of a new staff might not be a bad long-term move for the franchise. I also want to see some solid physical and “right now” vets brought in, even if it means giving up some youth (and giving up ON some youth) to do it.  We know Fitz will go after a goalie, so just a question of who and how much it will take to acquire him AND lock him up.  I still want Saros or Ullmark.  Hard no to Markstrom…the last thing the Devils need is a potential VV Part Deux, only much older and almost twice the price AND sure to cost in assets.  fvck that.

Edited April 16 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[ButlerBulldog]

Haula has two more seasons on his deal, which includes a no-trade clause, but I think Fitz should explore moving him.  He contributed early, but his play has bottomed out in the second half, as he’s accumulated far more penalty minutes than points.  Moreover, as was pointed out above, his skillset doesn’t compliment Jack, who needs to skate alongside players who can match his speed.

I agree regarding Marino and Siegenthaler.  Although both have been a disappointment this season, I’m interested in seeing if they’ll play better under a different coach who understands that neither is top-line defenseman.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

22 minutes ago, ButlerBulldog said:

Haula has two more seasons on his deal, which includes a no-trade clause, but I think Fitz should explore moving him.  He contributed early, but his play has bottomed out in the second half, as he’s accumulated far more penalty minutes than points.  Moreover, as was pointed out above, his skillset doesn’t compliment Jack, who needs to skate alongside players who can match his speed.

I agree regarding Marino and Siegenthaler.  Although both have been a disappointment this season, I’m interested in seeing if they’ll play better under a different coach who understands that neither is top-line defenseman.

I’m certainly not against Haula being moved in the slightest, but both he and Palat can’t ever be thought of as Top 6 guys ever again going forward if they’re both still here.  Neither is nearly productive enough, nor the right kind of fit.

[ButlerBulldog]

4 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

I’m certainly not against Haula being moved in the slightest, but both he and Palat can’t ever be thought of as Top 6 guys ever again going forward if they’re both still here.  Neither is nearly productive enough, nor the right kind of fit.

Agreed.  It would behoove Fitz to find another forward who can play with Nico or Jack so that neither Haula nor Palat needs to be included in the top six, especially if Mercer or Holtz is moved to acquire a starting goalie.  Curtis Lazar is someone with whom I’ve generally been happy, but his play has also dropped off recently, so he’s probably not a top-six guy either.

[jagknife]

31 minutes ago, ButlerBulldog said:

Agreed.  It would behoove Fitz to find another forward who can play with Nico or Jack so that neither Haula nor Palat needs to be included in the top six, especially if Mercer or Holtz is moved to acquire a starting goalie.  Curtis Lazar is someone with whom I’ve generally been happy, but his play has also dropped off recently, so he’s probably not a top-six guy either.

I don’t think lazar was ever looked at to be a top 6 guy here, but more of a fill in as required. He also has taken an absolute beating this season, consistently selling himself out to try and will this team to the post season, so not surprised his body is breaking down a little. He gave everything he had this year and outside a few games, I think he’s one of the few devils I am not disappointed in this year, my homerism for him not withstanding 

[devlman]

Fitz has a lot of work to do. And he only has himself to blame.

A top-tier goalie is the obvious.

Then the bottom 6 needs a lot of work. McLeod needs to be replaced, possibly Bastian as well since he added little. Willman and Tierney cannot be on NHL rosters, except in the one or two emergency games. Sandpaper and grit to balance out the top 6 would be needed. The once reliable Mercer can be expendable. Maybe Stillman is ready? He was drafted to fill a bottom 6 role.

Then, I’d like to see an upgrade to the d-corps. We can’t expect Bahl, Luke, Nemec to make an exceptional jump over the summer. They need to be sheltered more to not only aid our playoff pursuit, but to aid their own development. If someone like Siegs can be moved out maybe we can get an upgrade on defense there. At the very minimum, depth on defense would be nice so that rotation can be utilized.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

34 minutes ago, ButlerBulldog said:

Agreed.  It would behoove Fitz to find another forward who can play with Nico or Jack so that neither Haula nor Palat needs to be included in the top six, especially if Mercer or Holtz is moved to acquire a starting goalie.  Curtis Lazar is someone with whom I’ve generally been happy, but his play has also dropped off recently, so he’s probably not a top-six guy either.

Lazar is strictly a Bottom 6 guy, and a very cost-effective one at that…he absolutely fills a need and like @jagknife just said, the guy gives a lot of effort.  He can play on my 4th line anytime.

Mercer and Holtz are interesting cases.  I don’t think any Devil did more to muck up his contract situation than Dawson; he’s stuck himself into pure “bridge deal” territory, probably to the tune of a year or two, as he’ll be a RFA again afterwards…if he had turned in a season similar to 2022-23, he probably gets at least a four-year extension, with a $5 million-or-so AAV.  This year was just prohibitive enough that I wouldn’t risk going 4+ years for him…the balance of his career has been too inconsistent to feel like I have any real handle on what he truly is.  And he’s probably looking at under $4 million in AAV now for whatever bridge deal he does sign.

Holtz has some appeal in that he is under ELC control for one more season…but we’re at the point that with some of Fitz’s moves, it’s a “better be sure” situation.  Holtz HAS to be ready to be a legit Top 6 guy from the very beginning of next year…if he needs 10 games to so to settle in, ok, but he’s gotta show shortly after that he’s the kind of guy who can absolutely stick, and who makes sense to hang onto.  I’m still very much up for a deal involving him for veteran forward help, but I get that hanging onto a low-cost, potentially higher reward young player for one more year has its points too.

[jagknife]

3 minutes ago, devlman said:

Fitz has a lot of work to do. And he only has himself to blame.

A top-tier goalie is the obvious.

Then the bottom 6 needs a lot of work. McLeod needs to be replaced, possibly Bastian as well since he added little. Willman and Tierney cannot be on NHL rosters, except in the one or two emergency games. Sandpaper and grit to balance out the top 6 would be needed. The once reliable Mercer can be expendable. Maybe Stillman is ready? He was drafted to fill a bottom 6 role.

Then, I’d like to see an upgrade to the d-corps. We can’t expect Bahl, Luke, Nemec to make an exceptional jump over the summer. They need to be sheltered more to not only aid our playoff pursuit, but to aid their own development. If someone like Siegs can be moved out maybe we can get an upgrade on defense there. At the very minimum, depth on defense would be nice so that rotation can be utilized.

I’m fine with moving on from Bastian. He isn’t the same player we had re-acquired last year.
 

I think Haula can be the 3rd line center, but Fitz and new coach need to stop forcing the false narrative that Hughes is exceptionally better with Haula at his center. We need to get back to a speed style of play and as far away from 3LR/Groan’s systems as possible. We have pieces to the puzzle, time to use them appropriately and not change their game to fit our antiquated mindset. 

[jagknife]

1 minute ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Lazar is strictly a Bottom 6 guy, and a very cost-effective one at that…he absolutely fills a need and like @jagknife just said, the guy gives a lot of effort.  He can play on my 4th line anytime.

Mercer and Holtz are interesting cases.  I don’t think any Devil did more to muck up his contract situation than Dawson; he’s stuck himself into pure “bridge deal” territory, probably to the tune of a year or two, as he’ll be a RFA again afterwards…if he had turned in a season similar to 2022-23, he probably gets at least a four-year extension, with a $5 million-or-so AAV.  This year was just prohibitive enough that I wouldn’t risk going 4+ years for him…the balance of his career has been too inconsistent to feel like I have any real handle on what he truly is.  And he’s probably looking at under $4 million in AAV now for whatever bridge deal he does sign.

Holtz has some appeal in that he is under ELC control for one more season…but we’re at the point that with some of Fitz’s moves, it’s a “better be sure” situation.  Holtz HAS to be ready to be a legit Top 6 guy from the very beginning of next year…if he needs 10 games to so to settle in, ok, but he’s gotta show shortly after that he’s the kind of guy who can absolutely stick, and who makes sense to hang onto.  I’m still very much up for a deal involving him for veteran forward help, but I get that hanging onto a low-cost, potentially higher reward young player for one more year has its points too.

I cannot believe how badly Dawson’s season fell right off a cliff this year. He was about to make our decisions very difficult this summer and then boom, an absolute egg, losing a lot of leverage for himself

[ButlerBulldog]

12 minutes ago, jagknife said:

I cannot believe how badly Dawson’s season fell right off a cliff this year. He was about to make our decisions very difficult this summer and then boom, an absolute egg, losing a lot of leverage for himself

As @devlman pointed out, Mercer has unfortunately made himself expendable.  That being said, I wouldn’t just toss him aside at the first opportunity, as he’s young enough that he’s likely to attract plenty of interest from scoring-starved teams who think they can fix him.  The ideal scenario would entail his being moved for an experienced net minder.

Holtz is another guy who can be moved, although Fitz made that more difficult by trashing him publicly.  Plus, he seems to have good chemistry with Jack and Nemec, who’s assisted on a few of his goals, so he might be worth keeping around in the short-term to see if he can make the requisite leap to become a legitimate top-six forward.  As @Colorado Rockies 1976 noted, however, if it doesn’t happen quickly, it probably won’t happen at all.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

6 minutes ago, ButlerBulldog said:

As @devlman pointed out, Mercer has unfortunately made himself expendable.  That being said, I wouldn’t just toss him aside at the first opportunity, as he’s young enough that he’s likely to attract plenty of interest from scoring-starved teams who think they can fix him.  The ideal scenario would entail his being moved for an experienced net minder.

Holtz is another guy who can be moved, although Fitz made that more difficult by trashing him publicly.  Plus, he seems to have good chemistry with Jack and Nemec, who’s assisted on a few of his goals, so he might be worth keeping around in the short-term to see if he can make the requisite leap to become a legitimate top-six forward.  As @Colorado Rockies 1976 noted, however, if it doesn’t happen quickly, it probably won’t happen at all.

I think across the board, the idea is that Mercer would go as part of a package for a top netminder.  I don’t think anyone is SO down on him that it’s “Get him the fvck outta here!”  He’s a young kid who still has obvious value…former first-rounder who scored 27 goals as a 21-year-old.  And given the Devils who are going to be off-limits in any deals, I can’t see how Nashville or Boston doesn’t insist that Dawson isn’t included in a trade for a goalie.  It’s more knowing Devils will have to give to get.

[MadDog2020]

No interest in Boudreau https://www.nj.com/devils/2024/03/would-bruce-boudreau-consider-devils-head-coaching-opening.html?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=njdevilsonnjcom_sf&utm_content=nj_facebook_njdevilsonnjcom&fbclid=IwAR3sbWavzlOWbCgDKPq-n09vC4biqjLB-U5GfH1UPcmT4_ykneikSelATj8_aem_AefA93uSiJWbU14bAkQ9CIEzQTUyxGc8KJU9y2QyqrIH0ESrw45QQgUwGylQfjIY7_o

[ButlerBulldog]

14 minutes ago, MadDog2020 said:

No interest in Boudreau https://www.nj.com/devils/2024/03/would-bruce-boudreau-consider-devils-head-coaching-opening.html?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=njdevilsonnjcom_sf&utm_content=nj_facebook_njdevilsonnjcom&fbclid=IwAR3sbWavzlOWbCgDKPq-n09vC4biqjLB-U5GfH1UPcmT4_ykneikSelATj8_aem_AefA93uSiJWbU14bAkQ9CIEzQTUyxGc8KJU9y2QyqrIH0ESrw45QQgUwGylQfjIY7_o

I can’t believe Green’s even being considered for the job.  If Fitz screws this up, he deserves to be run out of town.

[MadDog2020]

8 minutes ago, ButlerBulldog said:

I can’t believe Green’s even being considered for the job.  If Fitz screws this up, he deserves to be run out of town.

It better be a courtesy interview and nothing more. 

[ButlerBulldog]

Just now, MadDog2020 said:

It better be a courtesy interview and nothing more. 

Yes, as we discussed yesterday, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with interviewing Green as a formality, but he shouldn’t be on the short list of candidates, and he cannot be the hire.  There are other candidates with coaching experience (e.g., Berube) who will do a far better job with this group than he has.

[jagknife]

11 hours ago, ButlerBulldog said:

Yes, as we discussed yesterday, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with interviewing Green as a formality, but he shouldn’t be on the short list of candidates, and he cannot be the hire.  There are other candidates with coaching experience (e.g., Berube) who will do a far better job with this group than he has.

We need to find a way for that person who convinced him to call Lindy to not have any contact with Fitz until a new coach is hired. He trusts that person too much and they are an idiot, whoever it is.

[MadDog2020]

On 3/30/2024 at 7:57 AM, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Yes, there’s still 7 games and about two weeks left in this most frustrating season, but if last night didn’t effectively end 2023-24 with absolute finality, I don’t know what else could at this point.

First off, as this is the offseason thread, no more bitching about what happened (or didn’t happen) during this season; we’ve all been airing the same complaints across multiple threads, over and over again, and there’s no DeLoreans equipped with flux capacitors available for Fitz to head back a few months and take a second stab at acquiring a goalie and/or bringing in a legit head coach.

Anyway, so how does Fitz get things back on track?

We know who the untouchables are:  Both Hugheses, Hischier, Bratt, Meier, and Nemec.  Easy to forget about Hamilton, but with four years left on an expensive deal AND the fact that the Devils very obviously missed him, it’s quite clear that he ain’t going anywhere.  Fitz definitely has made it clear that Allen is a part of the 2024-25 and due to Montreal retaining a nice chunk of his money, there’s no reason at all to think Fitz will change course with him.  He’ll be back too.

Starting with the one-year 4th line/forward depth signings from last summer, hard to see Fitz just signing them all again.  I wouldn’t be surprised if none of Willman, Nosek, or Tierney are retained.  Also not convinced that Bastian will be back, as his (former?) pal is gone for good, and not only does he have trouble staying healthy, he seems to do less and less when he’s able to play.

As far as the bottom six goes, Palat and Haula (as long as they’re still here) need to be a part of that group only, as neither should be fixtures on the Top 6, ever.  I don’t care if Jack and Haula like playing together; Haula will forever cost Jack points if they’re stuck on a line together.  And this version of Palat can’t possibly be counted on for anything  remotely close to consistent offense.  He won’t ever live up to his contract and we’ll have to live with it, but I don’t want that fact made worse by him getting Top 6 minutes unless it’s strictly due to multiple injuries.  I know sh!t happened, but is Nolan Foote ever gonna be a “from within” part of this thing or not?  Ditto Clarke.

Outside of the “untouchable” forward group, everyone else is available, AFAIC.  Not saying to just give them all away, but if Mercer’s gotta be the guy who goes in a Saros or Ullmark deal, so be it. If Holtz needs to go as part of a package for a “right now” forward, same deal; I’m not necessarily down on Holtz but at the same time I haven’t truly seen enough to believe that he’s a sure thing to fit right in as a Top 6er who will produce.  He’s too much of a maybe, and based off his year overall I don’t think that trying to remain patient with Holtz in the hope that he might figure it all out is the best way to go.  That’s not to put everything on Holtz himself in the slightest, more that the Devils need immediate help, and I don’t think Alex will bring that.

re:  the D, if the Devils want to move on from Bahl and try to get a more established physical vet to replace him, no arguments.  I know Marino has had a down year but I would like to see what real coaches can do with him; that being said, if he winds up going in any deals to address other needs, can’t say that he should ever be the guy to hold such a deal up.  Siegs has four years left on his contract (at least the hit isn’t prohibitive), so hard to imagine that he’s going anywhere, but at the same time, he seems like a guy who needs to be broken down and built back up.  I’m all for Miller being re-signed as Smith’s replacement, but wouldn’t be surprised to see a team that can offer more guaranteed minutes scoop him up first.  We know the deal with Smith; under NO circumstances can THAT guy be back here.  NO.  fvckING.  WAY.  He sucks so much that he makes other people suck just by skating with them.  It would be nice to just see the fvcker scratched already, but if watching him seven more games means that I NEVER fvckING EVER have to see him wearing a Devils jersey again, I’ll suck it up and relish the countdown to him being a sh!tty footnote in Devils history.

Ditto Groan, as far as that goes.  The team as a whole has managed to look even WORSE under this moron, but what amounts to absolutely Herculean goaltending as of late has propped up his time here.  The Devils get so overwhelmed so often regardless of who the opponent is that I can’t imagine a head coach who could possibly get less out of this team than Groan…he’s even worse than Lindy.  Not only should Groan never ever be a head coach again, I would want him on my staff in ANY capacity.  He’s an absolute loser, a team killer if there ever was one.  He can’t be the guy that Fitz bets his and this team’s future on, no fvcking way.

I really hope it’s Berube who ultimately gets the gig here, but given some of the names available, I’ll settle for any of one of the “Not Groan” crowd.  And hopefully a mostly new lot of assistants; the less zilch holdovers who failed miserably this season still hanging around, the better.  The players aren’t blameless but I’m convinced that the majority of this staff could ruin almost any team that they’re tasked to work with.  The team won’t fully be blown up this season, and I don’t think it should, but when it comes to this “coaching” staff…please Fitz, nothing but scorched earth.

So basically I’m hoping for a legit coaching hire with an almost entirely new staff to support him; I think Brylin getting the Utica HC gig instead of being part of a new staff might not be a bad long-term move for the franchise. I also want to see some solid physical and “right now” vets brought in, even if it means giving up some youth (and giving up ON some youth) to do it.  We know Fitz will go after a goalie, so just a question of who and how much it will take to acquire him AND lock him up.  I still want Saros or Ullmark.  Hard no to Markstrom…the last thing the Devils need is a potential VV Part Deux, only much older and almost twice the price AND sure to cost in assets.  fvck that.

It’s as if you entered my brain for this post. There nothing I’m in disagreement with you on here. 

[MadDog2020]

 

[ButlerBulldog]

9 minutes ago, MadDog2020 said:

 

I would hope that whoever the Devils’ new coach is, he’s chosen because he’s the best person for the job, not because of personal connections to any of the players.  His helping Jack and Luke reach their potential is far more important than his being their friend.

[MadDog2020]

7 minutes ago, ButlerBulldog said:

I would hope that whoever the Devils’ new coach is, he’s chosen because he’s the best person for the job, not because of personal connections to any of the players.  His helping Jack and Luke reach their potential is far more important than his being their friend.

💯 No more players coaches. The next coach needs to be a whip cracker who is here to win and get the most out of this roster. Period, end of story. The next coach has to have the mantra that ‘I’m not here to be your friend; I’m here to win’. 

[ButlerBulldog]

5 minutes ago, MadDog2020 said:

💯 No more players coaches. The next coach needs to be a whip cracker who is here to win and get the most out of this roster. Period, end of story. The next coach has to have the mantra that ‘I’m not here to be your friend; I’m here to win’. 

Exactly.  Any disappointment felt by Jack or Luke will be forgotten if/when they’re hoisting the Stanley Cup, and that has to be the focus of Fitz and anyone else making decisions this offseason.

[MadDog2020]

8 minutes ago, ButlerBulldog said:

Exactly.  Any disappointment felt by Jack or Luke will be forgotten if/when they’re hoisting the Stanley Cup, and that has to be the focus of Fitz and anyone else making decisions this offseason.

There was a saying back in the 70’s with the Canadiens: the players hated Scotty Bowman six days a week; on the seventh day, they got their Stanley Cup rings. You don’t have to always like your coach. But when you win, you’ll love him. 

Edited March 31 by MadDog2020

[DevilMinder]

1 hour ago, MadDog2020 said:

 

I hope that memory recolllection cemented BB's position on the do not hire list. We don't need anymore hughes connections, buddies or siblings. This is a corporation at the end of the day and the Hughes brothers need to produce.

[ButlerBulldog]

6 minutes ago, DevilMinder said:

I hope that memory recolllection cemented BB's position on the do not hire list. We don't need anymore hughes connections, buddies or siblings. This is a corporation at the end of the day and the Hughes brothers need to produce.

Although I don’t think anybody would make their grievances public, I’m sure other players are put off by even the suggestion of the Devils catering to the Hughes with the new hire.  Fitz needs to avoid allowing favoritism and other personal considerations to drive the head coach search and selection.  As you said, this is a corporation, so any and all decisionmaking has to be about what’s best for the Devils professionally.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

14 minutes ago, ButlerBulldog said:

Although I don’t think anybody would make their grievances public, I’m sure other players are put off by even the suggestion of the Devils catering to the Hughes with the new hire.  Fitz needs to avoid allowing favoritism and other personal considerations to drive the head coach search and selection.  As you said, this is a corporation, so any and all decisionmaking has to be about what’s best for the Devils professionally.

Let me see any of this sh!t actually happen (catering to Jack and Luke).  I think (or at the very least, HOPE) that Fitz will make his hire based strictly on who will be the best man for the job.  His job here depends on it.

Edited March 31 by Colorado Rockies 1976