The Devils held a press conference on Tuesday to announce the team's new head coach but GM Ray Shero did more than just that.
Shero used it as an opportunity to share his vision for how the Devils will play going forward.
He used three words to do so: fast, attacking, supportive.
Shero noted that fast isn't just team speed but making quick decisions, quick passes, etc. He described attacking as pressuring the opposing team to try and get the puck back quickly, and supportive as doing everything as a five-man unit.
Newly appointed head coach John Hynes seems to be a perfect fit for how Shero wants the team to play because he echoed the same things.
Via FireAndIce: “And that's something that we will stress – that sometimes your best defense is a good offense,… he said. “For us, we want to be strong two ways. On the defensive side of it when we don't have the puck, to be in a good structure and have a strong commitment to be able to get it back quickly, but when we have the puck, we want to have an emphasis on attacking and spending time in the offensive zone and being aggressive and putting pressure on other teams.…
Teams score (and win) by getting the puck out of the zone as quickly as possible and pushing the puck up ice.
That's something Shero really hammered home.
Via FireAndIce: “Supportive is five guys in your defensive zone, five guys supporting the neutral zone, and coming out of the defensive zone on coverage,… Shero said. “We talk about an identity (and) if you can't come out of your defensive zone in this league, you can talk all day about scoring goals, you're not going to do it.
There is so much speed and skill in today's NHL that if you sit back you're going to get picked apart.
Shero and Hynes are well aware of that and are prepared to change the team's defensive philosophy to help avoid that problem.
Attack. Don't sit back.
Change can be scary but it's often a good thing. It certainly will be in this case.
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