This is a big Metropolitan Division rivalry game for both the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers. Both teams had a decent start to the 2021-22 NHL season but have fallen off the wagon as of late. After the losing reached to nine straight games, Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher took action a few days ago and fired their head coach Alain Vigneault and assistant head coach Michel Therrien but retained Mike Yeo as their head coach. The Devils have lost four straight and only one “loser” point to show for their efforts, or lack thereof.
Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald is still sticking with Lindy Ruff as the Devils are in this rough (no pun intended) stretch of their season. But one needs to ask: Is this losing stretch a bump in the road? Or is this the same script Devils fans have seen the past six years of the never ending rebuild?
We’ll see tonight how things go for the New Jersey Devils. Let’s see how effective these hard practices and team meetings have been lately. The Devils should beat the Flyers. But can they execute a full game plan?
Or maybe those 3rd jerseys will usher in a new era of winning in New Jersey? Don’t count on it!
Strong Organizational Leadership Needed
The Devils as an organization as a whole need to hold themselves accountable. Devils fans are fed up with the losing and excuses while being asked to be patient through the process. It is time for HBSE to take responsibility and ownership of being second-rate NHL team as the status quo.
For example, all you have to do is look across the river as the New York Rangers are currently in Year 3 of their rebuild after drafting a letter on February 8, 2018 to their season ticket holder that the drastic moves being made was to better their future. We all chuckled at it as they started to tear down the roster but were able to get lucky enough to get a first and second overall picks in the NHL draft.
Then the Tom Wilson incident of last season that spurred a tirade, which led to a snarky press release by the Rangers organization and a big fat fine of a quarter million dollars from the NHL. We all wrongly thought, myself included, that Wilson singlehandedly destroyed the Rangers in one day. But Rangers ownership took control of the situation, especially taking one for the team with that fine, and made big changes afterwards.
During last offseason, they cleaned house and fired pretty much everyone and put in a proven winner both on and off the ice with Chris Drury in charge. The Rangers beefed up their lineup and sent a message they are not going to be bullied and pushed around.
The result? The Rangers are currently 17-4-3 and only one point behind the division leading Washington Capitals in the Metropolitan Division with two games in hand. This is a result of ownership understanding that their fans demand and deserve better and their team will not be pushed around. Hate to say it: You gotta give the Rangers credit here. They took massive action!
And the Devils ownership group should learn not to accept mediocrity and hold those accountable while being more engaging with the Devils fans like their own stakeholders at their day job at the corporate office. They have been too patient. Devils fans have an emotional equity stake in this New Jersey team. Devils are in Year 6. The time to win is now!
Love Stan Fischler's article on the NJ's Men in Black
Triple header Devils podcasts tonight at Taj Lounge 973
I'll be at Taj Lounge 973 at 35 Edison Place across the street from the Prudential Center for three live podcasts. Come stop by to see me live before, during, and after the game!
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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 
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