MY NHL

Ever since the New Jersey Devils somewhat shockingly parted ways with General Manager Ray Shero and promoted Assistant GM Tom Fitzgerald to Interim General Manager, team chairman Joshua Harris said the team will conduct a search for his successor in the coming weeks or months. Yes, Tom Fitzgerald is definitely part of the process and is still a strong contender, maybe even the heavy favorite. Legendary former Devils goalie Marty Brodeur was also brought on from the business side to the hockey operations to help advise Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald was given the keys to run the trade deadline for the team and it was evident back in January that they were going to be sellers based on where they were in the standings and that making the playoffs was not going to be in the cards. His first trade was a very significant one by sending team captain Andy Greene across the river to the New York Islanders for a 2nd round pick in the 2021 draft and defensive prospect David Quenneville, brother of f...

Yes, I am a week late to this party, but let's get a perspective here: On June 29th, 2016, New Jersey Devils General Manager Ray Shero made a trade which sent shock waves throughout the National Hockey League by acquiring former first overall pick star winger Taylor Hall from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Defenseman Adam Larsson. It was a 1 for 1 deal with no draft picks and salary retained. Many thought it was a franchise altering move for New Jersey which was starving for a star player since the likes of Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk left the team in Summer's past. However, Hall's first season in New Jersey was a disaster, not stats wise, but the team, much like his Edmonton team's finished last in the Eastern Conference and the Devils won the right to the #1 overall pick in the 2017 Draft which they used to select Swiss Center Nico Hischier. In 2017-2018, Hischier would play a prominent role in helping Hall win the Hart Memorial Trophy for League MVP an...

The New Jersey Devils finally fired Head Coach John Hynes after a 9-13-4 start to the season and a 7-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night. Assistant Coach Alain Nasreddine was promoted to Interim Head Coach just hours before the game against the Vegas Golden Knights, which they lost 4-3 to fall to 9-14-4. Yes, the change was made in between a back-to-back situation. Peter Horachek, a pro scout for the Devils and two time Interim Coach himself of the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs will assume Nasraddine's old duties as his Assistant. General Manager Ray Shero implied that the Rangers game and the Sabres debacle were the last straws to fall for Hynes. So, with the change made, my simple opinion is that Shero must hire previous NHL coach to the full-time role with one exception. And, he must stay away from Dan Bylsma despite previous success. I will get to the exception later. Obviously, this is Nasraddine's first Head Coaching job, being it is Interim, so h...

The New Jersey Devils have played 26 games and are 9-13-4 to show for it. They sit 10 points back of the Carolina Hurricanes for the final Wild Card spot and have definitely dug themselves a huge hole so far this season, but it is already getting late early. One big habit they cannot get out of is protecting a 3rd period lead. Not saying this season is over by any stretch, but they have not shown any signs that they can go on a huge winning streak. I know this is a sad reality for us Devils fans, but we might have to suffer another 1-3 years to get back into the playoff conversation. So, with that, it might be time to start focusing on building for 2020-2021. The Devils big hurdle for next two drafts is no 2nd round picks. They traded them to acquire PK Subban and Nikita Gusev. But, they still have their own first round pick in 2020 and 2021. Here are some things they can do to get back into the playoff conversation for 2020-2021. 1) If they do not plan on firing John Hynes, the...

The New Jersey Devils remained win-less in 6 games as their record grew to 0-4-2 after 1 matinee loss to the Florida Panthers at Prudential Center today. Once again, NJ had a 4-1 lead and ended up losing 6-4 and the power play remained blank. Florida made it 4-3 with under 10 seconds left in period 2 and tied the game in the opening minute of period 3. Fans began chants to fire 5th year Head Coach John Hynes, who's seat is getting hotter with each passing game. This was the start of a 6 game home stand for the team, but the question is, how long is the leash right now on John Hynes? As I mentioned, NJ has the next 5 games at home with a Thursday night match-up against the arch-rival NY Rangers and the #2 overall pick Kaapo Kakko. It appears very likely that Hynes will not be fired by then or even this Saturday's matinee against the Vancouver Canucks. However, the team will not play until the following Friday after that giving them 6 days off. That could be the first window...

After a very busy off-season which saw them add the likes of PK Subban, Jack Hughes with the #1 overall pick, forward Wayne Simmonds and Nikita Gusev, the New Jersey Devils are 0-2-2 thru the first 4 games of the season. They have been outscored 18-5 since having a 4-0 lead against Winnipeg last Friday which they ultimately blew and lost in a shootout. All the pressure seemingly is on 5th year coach John Hynes with fans calling for him to get fired. But would this be the absolute right move? Lets pause on that front for NOW. Yes, the team is still searching for it's first win and yes Hynes has not coached well so far into this young season. The special teams have been awful on all fronts, Blackwood has been bad and Schneider has been good. Last Friday's collapse against Winnipeg seems to still be lingering with the team. NJ had a 4-0 lead until Winnipeg scored with under 15 seconds left in period 2 and then scored their 2nd goal early in the 3rd and Schneider left the game...