3D IN NJ: DECIDING DEVILS DIRECTION

TORONTO, ON — Chalk this one up to philosophical differences. In a move that surprised the hockey world early Sunday evening, the New Jersey Devils announced they and General Manager Ray Shero have parted ways.

To say New Jersey’s season hasn’t gone as planned would be an understatement. The moves they made last summer didn’t propel this team into contender status.

P.K. Subban has struggled mightily, Wayne Simmonds hasn’t had the rebound season they had hoped for, 2019 first-overall pick Jack Hughes is having just a decent rookie campaign, and they couldn’t get Taylor Hall to commit long-term. Of the roster moves made during the off-season, not counting the draft, the acquisition of Nikita Gusev has paid off but the club still expected more – he’s currently on pace for a 50 point season, not the 70+ point campaign he’ll likely get down the road.

So, as the season continued its downward spiral – with three more months of spinning to go – and the club trading Hall knowing he wasn’t prepared sign an extension, Shero and ownership had to figure out what the heck to do next.

In a statement about the move, Josh Harris, the Devils’ Managing Partner & Chairman, revealed he and Shero knew this season is a write-off.

“Ray and I are in agreement that the Devils need to move in a new direction and that this change is in the best interest of the team,” he said.

A new direction is clear. But what that direction is isn’t so crystal.

To sum things up, according to sources close to the organization, Shero presented ownership with a plan to rebuild. While Harris and his partners seemed willing to listen, they ultimately disagreed with his strategy.

I suspect a retool, not a full blown rebuild, is the preferred route, and Tom Fitzgerald (new interim GM), Martin Brodeur (new advisor to hockey ops) and Dan MacKinnon (Sr. VP and Assistant GM) are now responsible for managing the roster for the rest of this season.

Some people will point to Hall’s departure as a sign of change for this team, and potentially used as an excuse for those involved. This isn’t on Hall. He wasn’t going to commit, he wants to win, and as I was told back in the off-season, Hall and the Devils weren’t going to be a long-term link. They dealt him for a solid package and the team moved on.

Not having Hall certainly did change the mindset moving forward, but with 2017 first-overall pick Nico Hischier and Hughes leading the way, the future is very bright in Newark – and that might explain why the higher-ups refused the full rebuild path.

More changes are coming. Fitzgerald and Co. will be able to make moves leading up to the Feb. 24 trade deadline, though I’m told ownership will need to give its stamp of approval before anything’s official.

Pending unrestricted free agents Wayne Simmonds, Sami Vatanen and Andy Greene will be discussed, and some teams are already looking at Vatanen and Greene as targets in the coming weeks. Greene hasn’t had any contract discussions with the club yet, nor have they approached him about waiving his full no-trade clause, but that’s likely going to happen in the near future.

It also sounds like forwards Kyle Palmieri (eight-team no-trade list), Travis Zajac (full no-trade clause) and Miles Wood may get some attention leading up to the deadline. In the case of Zajac, you have to wonder if he’d welcome a change of scenery – it wouldn’t surprise me if he did.

As for Subban... I don’t see any team taking on his $9 million cap hit. Not this year, anyway.

The Devils need calculated changes this season and a strong plan this summer. I expect them to be aggressive in the off-season, once a full-time GM is hired – Fitzgerald will be in the running – and adding quality to this roster will continue to come via trades and then free agency.

The eventual GM must also decide what to do with goalie Cory Schneider. Before today’s move, there was already talk of buying out the remaining two years of his contract this June and that could still be part of the new plan. If it happens, the Devils will be on the hook for a $2 million cap hit for each of the next four seasons, as per CapFriendly, but that’s an easier pill to swallow than his currently $6 million cap hit.

With more than $24 million in available salary cap space, providing the cap stays the same next season (and that figure would go up if Schneider’s bought out), the Devils have an opportunity to score big in July.

But as history has shown, big moves don’t always pay off. It’s up to the new full-time GM to make the right ones.