MY NHL

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...