With yet another loss on Saturday night, the New Jersey Devils find themselves with a massive mountain to climb if they plan on making the playoffs. We've seen the flaws in this roster go unaddressed for years. The lack of goaltending, size/physicality, center depth, bottom six depth, and a top six scorer have been recurring issues for the three straight seasons in NJ. The goaltending may be the only one that GM Tom Fitzgerald addressed. Even with that, it seems to have been done quite poorly. Fitzgerald acquired two aging tenders that we were ok with given the dire need at the time, however the oddly timed, unnecessary extensions both received this year leave us scratching our heads.
At times Fitz's patience seemed well thought out. Like not buying at last years deadline when the team was unlikely to make much noise due to injury. With that said, moves were expected this summer and didn't happen. Moves needed to be done early this season and didn't happen. Moves need to be done NOW and aren't happening. We also can't leave out the Quinn Hughes fumble(whether you think it's what this team needed or not, it's way better than doing nothing) This is a flawed roster, handcuffed by bad contracts that Fitzgerald has signed, so why does he not feel any heat? Why has ownership let this window of opportunity sit stagnant?
The answer appears simple. Ownership doesn't care about winning because they've already won.
When Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment bought the Devils in 2013, they won. At the time owning just the Philadelphia 76ers, HBSE purchased the Devils for $320 million approximately 13 years ago. Today, that investment has grown exponentially to an astounding value of $2.75B. That's nearly a 10x return on investment over 13 seasons. 13 losing seasons mostly, where NJ has made the playoffs just twice, winning only one round. HBSE would add the NFL's Washington Commanders to the list of investments in 2023, giving them a team in 3 of the 4 major sports in the US. These guys are not Devils fans. They're businessmen. They didn't cheer for NJ before this, and won't after they sell. This is not John McMullen, this is not George Steinbrenner; it's no longer for pride in team, but more pride in profit.
How much more could winning increase the value of a team? Not much at all actually.
For example, the Florida Panthers were purchased by Vincent Viola in 2013 for $250m. They've been in the finals 3 straight seasons and have won back to back Stanley Cups, their value today is estimated around $1.7-$1.9B. So the Devils despite a strong decade plus of disappointment, have outgrown the perennial postseason juggernaut, Florida Panthers. While a run to the Stanley Cup could generate up to $50m in additional revenue, is it really worth the strain for a corporation worth $14.58 billion? Probably not. Just raise the parking, concessions and tickets every year to make up for it. And if they do somehow win and make that $50m in additional revenue, raise all of those items even more!
So, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.. In the eyes of fans, it's very broken, but through the eye of ownership it's as strong as ever.
Go Devils? Or who even gives a f*** anymore? Definitely not ownership...