The NHL has been on pause for three full months, meaning the New Jersey Devils have had ~90 days to name a full-time head coach.
They still haven’t done so. Not only that, they haven’t even ruled out the possibility of bringing back Alain Nasreddine.
The Devils are much like a straight D’s student in high school right now. They’re doing just enough to, you know, say they’re doing something – but it’s barely passable.
You’d think they would at least be close to making some sort of decision. That’s not the case. Pierre LeBrun, one of the NHL’s more reputable insiders, is reporting the coaching search – like the league as a whole – is on pause.
It’s the same kind of deal with Tom Fitzgerald and the GM search.
The Devils spoke with 8-10 coaches and produced four final candidates, which includes Nasreddine, but the process itself in on pause right now until a later time. GM Tom Fitzgerald also still remains with interim tag and ownership is talking to candidates (and he's one, too) https://t.co/yEI21m3pLR
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 9, 2020
I know the Devils aren’t tight on time right now. They can flip every stone during this search. I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say they will never have this large of a hiring period to work with again. Even so, I think it’s fair to suggest they are starting to push it. At some point a shoe has to drop. Not even both; just one.
Nasreddine has been with the Devils for years. They know him extremely well. They saw what he is and isn’t capable of during his test-run as interim coach for the majority of the season. The organization has had months without games to really evaluate what he did. No decision.
Fitzgerald has been with the Devils for years. They know him extremely well. He also got a taste of running the operation and pulled off some pretty big moves. The organization has had plenty of time to judge his performance. Still no decision.
So they may or may not want Nasreddine coaching the team. They may or may not want Fitzgerald running the team. And they can’t really decide on one without the other.
It’s not like the team can hire Nasreddine full-time, bring in a different GM, and then expect things to work. The other GM – who doesn’t know Nasreddine and has a large pool of candidates to choose from – probably wants someone else. The visions simply may not align.
Yet, despite an impressive body of work, they won’t give Fitzgerald the keys and let him make a choice. They also won’t simply let go of Fitzgerald and allow somebody else do it (I’m not advising that, just making a point).
So, here we are, three months into the team’s ultra-important off-season and they have no head coach or GM in place. There is no end in sight, either.
It’d be one thing if the Devils were sitting in a good spot or had little flexibility for the newcomers to make immediate changes. But that’s not close to the case.
The Devils have a ton of cap space. They have three first round picks. They have prospects. Few teams – if any – have the blank canvas to make changes the way the Devils do.
And yet we still don’t know who will be shaping the roster. We still don’t know who will be coaching the team or what kind of style they will be playing. Heck, we don’t even know who the key scouting voices will be.
It’s entirely possible an outsider (should the Devils wish to go that route) will see some of the prospect gurus available – Mike Futa and Judd Bracket come to mind – and want ownership to do everything in its power to have them on board for a draft where they’re slated to pick three times in the opening round.
None of this can happen without the team making some decisions. The longer they wait to do so, the less time those put in place will have to prepare for what looks to be one of the more pivotal off-seasons in franchise history.
Recent Posts Trading season is open for the Devils