Earlier this week, New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald talked about the state of the team. He originally requested yesterday’s game against the Penguins to be postponed, which was granted by the NHL, before they shut down the entire league until December 26th.
“What I hope and believe is this break will help us,… Fitzgerald said.
Essentially, the Devils are hitting the reset button and hope to get all of their players recovered from various non-Covid related bugs as well as those currently in Covid-19 protocol. As of now, Fitzgerald showed confidence in his coaching staff and put the responsibility on the players to turn it around.
Fitzgerald explained, “I believe it has to come from that room. They have to keep each other accountable. They have to push each other. They have to be committed to each other, the guy next to you, the guy across from you.…
That is a big ask for a young team that has fallen off the tracks since starting the first 15 games of the season well enough to be within the playoff picture. Devils fans have heard this story before and right now, like in previous years, the season is in a downward spiral. Do you really think the team can get themselves healthy in the next few days during the extended Christmas break and get back to their winning ways like in October?
The likely answer is no. A few days off is not going to miraculously fix their power play which is ranked near the bottom of the NHL. The team looked lost and dejected out on the ice at times and always playing catch up in the third period. At some point, Fitzgerald needs to hold the coaches accountable as well because on most nights in the past four weeks, they looked unprepared and uninspired at the start of games.
To the coaches’ credit, the penalty killing has improved in recent weeks. This is a starting point to build on for the Devils. But, they need to continue improving their overall special teams game and play smarter. The Devils cannot afford to take undisciplined penalties because they are struggling offensively while the goaltending has been inconsistent at best.
Not sure how this break will help the team. The Devils were struggling before some of them entered the protocol and other players got sick with non-covid related illnesses. Many NHL teams are dealing with the same issues as well.
If the players don’t respond and the losing continues well after the break, Fitzgerald, including himself, will have no choice but to hit the “hard… reset button and hold everyone accountable, not just the players.
Prospect Watch: Chase Stillman
Young @chasestillman61 leads the @Sudbury_Wolves with 9 goals in 19 games this season. #NJDevils | @Verizon pic.twitter.com/ZCC0PXvbLJ
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) December 21, 2021
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Sam Woo is co-host and executive producer of the Let's Go Devils Podcast which can be heard live every Sunday at 9pm ET and Wednesday at 8:30pm ET.
You can follow Sam on Twitter: @PrimetimeSamWoo