Lou Lamoriello shocked the hockey world on Monday when announcing he would no longer be the general manager of the New Jersey Devils.
That title now belongs to Ray Shero, who most recently managed the Pittsburgh Penguins. In typical Lamoriello fashion, he held his cards tight to his chest, as not one peep came out from anyone in the media about what was soon to transpire. Lamoriello, who had run the Devils organization for almost 30 years, will stay on as Team President and oversee hockey operations. This is not a firing, and it was Lamoriello who made the decision that Shero is the best fit for the job. Shero will handle the day-to-day GM duties. Though Lamoriello will have input, Shero will have final say on important matters, such as who the team’s next head coach will be. Speaking of which, I’d be surprised if it is Scott Stevens, Adam Oates, or any other in-house option. I imagine at least one of them will stick around as an assistant, though. In situations like this, the new guy in town often likes to put his own stamp on his team. More often than not that includes choosing the team’s head coach, where there happens to be a vacancy right now. Easy money suggests Dan Bylsma will be given consideration for that job, but that was not discussed on the team’s conference call. Though there is a lot of work to be done, addressing the team’s scoring woes is at or near the top of that list, and Shero was sure to note that.
Shero said Devils need help up front. Need to score more goals, create more offense without abandoning the defensive structure they have.
— Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell) May 4, 2015Shero said if you rely on goaltending and defense there is little room for error. Again stressed the need for more offense.
— Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell) May 4, 2015Lou: “I would assume we would have some type of changes. Ray might do some things differently than I did. But so be it. That’s progression.…
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) May 4, 2015Recent posts