Devils team discussion (news, notes and speculation) - offseason edition

[Tao Jersey Jones]

Fitzgerald former colleagues:

Mike Johnston
Gary Agnew
Dan Bylsma
Tony Granato
Jacques Martin
Todd Reirden
Mike Yeo
Michel Therrien
Andre Savard*

Ruff former colleagues (not including Kevyn Adams):

David Quinn
Greg Brown
David Oliver
Alain Vigneault
Scott Arniel
Darryl Williams
Curt Fraser
James Patrick
Brian McCutcheon
Don Lever
Mike Ramsey

 

[Auto Pilot]

I’m gonna assume Bratts contract is done and probably will be announced soon. Could be like the dougie situation, just held up on finishing the fine details on paper work. Have to assume we gave him a nmc. Or at least hope so.

Also assuming it’s 8 years just over 6.5.

 

[Devs3cups]

I’m gonna assume Bratts contract is done and probably will be announced soon. Could be like the dougie situation, just held up on finishing the fine details on paper work. Have to assume we gave him a nmc. Or at least hope so.

Also assuming it’s 8 years just over 6.5.

What makes you say that? Has anything leaked or been announced? Consider my interest peaked lol

 

[HersheyBob27]

I’m gonna assume Bratts contract is done and probably will be announced soon. Could be like the dougie situation, just held up on finishing the fine details on paper work. Have to assume we gave him a nmc. Or at least hope so.

Also assuming it’s 8 years just over 6.5.

Why would we hope to give him a NMC ?? How is that good from a team standpoint

 

[Mgd31]

I still don’t get that blinking eyelid comment, Fitz really is not a polished public speaker

Yea he's a little disjointed sometimes, can't seem him getting more polished than this though. Seems like that's just the way he is.

 

[Monsieur Verdoux]

So Ruff is coming back? I don't like this. I don't have much faith that he can fix the team defence.

"Another decision that Fitzgerald made was to retain Lindy Ruff as the club's head coach. He noted that when Ruff was initially hired, it was because he stood out above the other candidates as the best option to grow the young talent.

"I don't think there's any doubt that Lindy came in and has done that over the last year and a half," Fitzgerald said. "The support that our players have for him because of how he treats them.

"When I looked back on the season, I could easily look at the negatives. There were a lot of negatives this year. But when you look at the snapshots of the positives and what our team accomplished individually, that excites me."

Fitzgerald said Ruff was brought in to be a partner. And they will work together for the upcoming assistant coaching search.

"At the end of the day, I'm the general manager. I would never force someone on somebody, but I'll have boxes that I need checked with individuals," Fitzgerald said. "He knows exactly where we need to improve, exactly what is needed to support what we're missing. I'm excited about that. It won't be easy. There'll probably be a wish list. But I need to find the best possible people who understand our standard, our expectations and how to get us to the next level.

"We listen to each other. My goal is to bring in people who think the same way as me and believe in the same things as me, the details, good habits, the purposes of (practice).""

2022 State of the Team | FEATURE | New Jersey Devils

General manager Tom Fitzgerald met with the media discuss the state of his team, last season and moving forward

www.nhl.com

 

[guitarguyvic]

Culture is not about working hard (though, hard work can be part of a culture).
It's not about growing together (though, those shared experiences can help build a strong culture).

People within a strong culture usually have a shared set of values. A strong culture allows people within an organization to know how to react and interpret situations quickly and consistently.

Generally, a strong culture allows people to do more than they could elsewhere. "The whole is greater than sum of the parts." They waste less time thinking about how other people might react / interpret something. They waste less time on trying to interpret things themselves. They are confident when they act because they know how to determine right and wrong. People who don't buy into that culture get ejected.

And, yes, people complain about culture on winning teams.
When Lou was here, people outside the org always joked about the culture of the Devils - how Lou micromanaged, etc.
Mike Commodore is one of the more vocal critics of Lou's culture.

It's the old saying of people rowing together.

I just had to quote this because it’s so spot on, but perhaps moreso because I’m legitimately baffled that any grown-up can believe culture is just an “illusion”. Culture, leadership, identity…you can use any number of platitudes but it’s all pretty much the same thing as you laid out…and every successful organization in every type of field has it. You can have a strong culture and not reach the very top, or even have down years. But organizations with poor cultures can never reach their full potential no matter what else they do. This shouldn’t be any kind of revelation, but maybe some people have never had the actual real life experience of being a part of a large group of people attempting to accomplish something together? Very weird to me.

 

[devilsblood]

So Ruff is coming back? I don't like this. I don't have much faith that he can fix the team defence.

"Another decision that Fitzgerald made was to retain Lindy Ruff as the club's head coach. He noted that when Ruff was initially hired, it was because he stood out above the other candidates as the best option to grow the young talent.

"I don't think there's any doubt that Lindy came in and has done that over the last year and a half," Fitzgerald said. "The support that our players have for him because of how he treats them.

"When I looked back on the season, I could easily look at the negatives. There were a lot of negatives this year. But when you look at the snapshots of the positives and what our team accomplished individually, that excites me."

Fitzgerald said Ruff was brought in to be a partner. And they will work together for the upcoming assistant coaching search.

"At the end of the day, I'm the general manager. I would never force someone on somebody, but I'll have boxes that I need checked with individuals," Fitzgerald said. "He knows exactly where we need to improve, exactly what is needed to support what we're missing. I'm excited about that. It won't be easy. There'll probably be a wish list. But I need to find the best possible people who understand our standard, our expectations and how to get us to the next level.

"We listen to each other. My goal is to bring in people who think the same way as me and believe in the same things as me, the details, good habits, the purposes of (practice).""

2022 State of the Team | FEATURE | New Jersey Devils

General manager Tom Fitzgerald met with the media discuss the state of his team, last season and moving forward

www.nhl.com

But you keep Ruff, keep the supportive culture he has fostered, and then bring in assistants who will tighten up the specifics.

I'm fine with this.

 

[SJinNewJersey]

I’m gonna assume Bratts contract is done and probably will be announced soon. Could be like the dougie situation, just held up on finishing the fine details on paper work. Have to assume we gave him a nmc. Or at least hope so.

Also assuming it’s 8 years just over 6.5.

I actually think he doesn't get more than Nico per year, but we shall see.

 

[Monsieur Verdoux]

But you keep Ruff, keep the supportive culture he has fostered, and then bring in assistants who will tighten up the specifics.

I'm fine with this.

We'll see. Their defensive system was pretty non-existent, or at least it was very poor, this season, but hopefully another assistant coaches and roster changes can fix those issues. But as I said, I don't have much faith in him.

 

[devilsblood]

We'll see. Their defensive system was pretty non-existent, or at least it was very poor, this season, but hopefully another assistant coaches and roster changes can fix those issues. But as I said, I don't have much faith in him.

I wouldn't say it was non-existent. But it was aggressive and prone to breakdowns.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

Fitzgerald former colleagues:

Mike Johnston
Gary Agnew
Dan Bylsma
Tony Granato
Jacques Martin
Todd Reirden
Mike Yeo
Michel Therrien
Andre Savard*

Ruff former colleagues (not including Kevyn Adams):

David Quinn
Greg Brown
David Oliver
Alain Vigneault
Scott Arniel
Darryl Williams
Curt Fraser
James Patrick
Brian McCutcheon
Don Lever
Mike Ramsey

Fitz is gonna have Ruff hire an assistant coach that's a HC in waiting isn't he?

 

[JrFischer54]

If he didn't know that one of his coaches raped a player (bolding and italicizing because that's what we're dealing with), then he's massively incompetent and shouldn't get the job anyway

weird though how the players escaped any punishment.

 

[Monsieur Verdoux]

I wouldn't say it was non-existent. But it was aggressive and prone to breakdowns.

Exactly. Ruff's teams have been poor to defend. At least the Stars, the Rangers and the Devils have had problems with it when he has been a head or assistant coach there.

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

Fitz is gonna have Ruff hire an assistant coach that's a HC in waiting isn't he?

Idk. After watching the RAW video with Fitz, it sounded like they really like Chris Taylor for his role in player development. Some say he might take over D duties from Nasreddine. Taylor is Ruff's guy. Will they give him more say in the AC hires? It sounds like they want to keep Ruff around next year, not necessarily behind the bench, but if it comes down to it and they don't find anyone they like better who is interested, then they would content with Ruff there again.

 

[Oneiro]

I just had to quote this because it’s so spot on, but perhaps moreso because I’m legitimately baffled that any grown-up can believe culture is just an “illusion”. Culture, leadership, identity…you can use any number of platitudes but it’s all pretty much the same thing as you laid out…and every successful organization in every type of field has it. You can have a strong culture and not reach the very top, or even have down years. But organizations with poor cultures can never reach their full potential no matter what else they do. This shouldn’t be any kind of revelation, but maybe some people have never had the actual real life experience of being a part of a large group of people attempting to accomplish something together? Very weird to me.

I sort of feel like the pushback on culture comes from the preservation of culture at the expense of seeing reality - attempting to compete when there was no talent left to compete with.

Reality is that this team had three HoFers + some very good players capable of all-star seasons for a long time, on top of a great culture and collective buy-in. And our post-Nieds-period was futile until Kovalchuk arrived. If you're going to be 'win now' all the time, you better draft well, which we did not.

I agree, culture is important - Fitz seemed to have talked about our lack of it today - but emphasizing it left a sour taste in people's mouth for a reason. Culture doesn't matter if the results aren't there and results start with talent as much as whatever principles you want to instill.

 

[Emperoreddy]

But you keep Ruff, keep the supportive culture he has fostered, and then bring in assistants who will tighten up the specifics.

I'm fine with this.

It's a risk on Fitz's part as I think it will be hard for him to justify his job if they underperform again and Ruff needs to be fired.

I think by and large his assessment of the team was spot on, so he seems to know what needs to be done.

I don't fully trust Ruff as the guy though. See who they hire assistant wise

 

[Emperoreddy]

The steps Nico, Jack, and Bratt have taken definitely helped Ruff out in keeping his job. Plus the goaltending being outside his control.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Add Boqvist too. He finally seemed to turn the corner this season.

 

[Emperoreddy]

 

[JK3]

The steps Nico, Jack, and Bratt have taken definitely helped Ruff out in keeping his job. Plus the goaltending being outside his control.

Those guys would succeed with me or you behind the bench though. I'm trying to find some of the younger guys that took steps under Ruff. Zacha...no, McLeod meh, Smith...oof, Kuokkanen...big meh. Mercer just stepped in and took off I guess. Maybe Boqvist but he just needed consistent playing time.

 

[RyGuy]

Broncos ownership narrowed to 5 candidates with Josh Harris first to visit

Rob Walton, Todd Boehley and other investment groups also scheduled to visit.

www.9news.com

Harris in on potential ownership of the Denver Broncos apparently. Denver is my team. That would be weird.

 

[OlfactoryHughes]

Ruff at this point, seems like an insurance policy behind the bench for next season. As others have mentioned, he could easily be absorbed into upper management if a better candidate comes along.

Sounds like Fitz has a lot of respect for him and acknowledges the difficult circumstances he’s been dealt. Even going so far as to call him a partner. Makes me think Lindy, is on board with doing what’s best for the team.

I’d be shocked if we name new assistants before the cup is awarded.

 

[NJDevs26]

Broncos ownership narrowed to 5 candidates with Josh Harris first to visit

Rob Walton, Todd Boehley and other investment groups also scheduled to visit.

www.9news.com

Harris in on potential ownership of the Denver Broncos apparently. Denver is my team. That would be weird.

Isn’t he already minority owner in Pittsburgh? Or is that Blitzer? Hard to keep track since these guys have their fingers in so many pies.

 

[NjdevilfanJim]

Devils need a 3-RD more than a top 6 winger, as Holtz could likely solve that need and there's nothing on the farm for RD. Lyubushkin would be the best signing the Devils could make, as he'd be a great mentor to Mukhamadullin or Okhotyuk at 3-LD and he's a heck of a defender who would add to team physicality and likely won't command an unreasonable salary in the UFA market.

If the Devils were to go after a forward, Nichushkin would represent the best available option. He'll cost nothing in trade assets, and I can't see him getting over $6 million per year as a UFA. He would solve the Devils *desperate* need for an interior/power forward with skill, and he's an excellent player both offensively and defensively.

Like your idea at RHD if not maybe Gudbranson but with all the bad blood that Ruff and Nichushkin seem to have and also almost 6 million for what could be a career year on a loaded Avs team is no sure thing.