TORONTO — Preseason takes so often fade away in the NHL where surprises are the norm.
Who had the Washington Capitals in first place in the Eastern Conference? Or the New York Rangers out of a playoff spot?
And is there a better story than the Columbus Blue Jackets right now?
But here’s one preseason narrative that has certainly held true: the New Jersey Devils being the best bet among 2023-24 non-playoff teams to be in the field this season.
That’s happened and then some. The Devils at the midway point arguably are as good a bet as any Eastern Conference team to reach the Stanley Cup Final in five months.
Even more so if they get done what they hope to ahead of the March 7 trade deadline. More on that in a moment.
Devils president of hockey operations and general manager Tom Fitzgerald sat down with The Athletic on Wednesday after his team arrived in Toronto ahead of a game with the Maple Leafs, and there was no hesitation when he was asked what’s led to his team’s comeback season.
“It starts with Sheldon,” Fitzgerald said before the question was even finished. “Going out and hiring Sheldon Keefe — not knowing him at all but admiring him from afar and how his teams had done in the regular season and how strong they’d been year in and out. The consistency. The details that they’d played with. And how hard they played. It starts with him.”
Fitzgerald was like a dog on a bone once the Maple Leafs announced Keefe’s firing, calling or texting him almost every day before eventually successfully hiring him.
(As an aside, the Leafs feel just as good about the Craig Berube hiring and what he’s brought to them. Sometimes it’s just time for a change, and it was for Keefe and the Leafs.)
Finally addressing the goaltending woes was the next big one for New Jersey, of course, and after an early-season adjustment period for Jacob Markstrom, he’s lived up to his billing.
Trading for forward Paul Cotter was one of Fitzgerald’s favorite moves.
“He’s been really good, really good,” Fitzgerald said, his face lighting up. “He was right for us, what we needed.”
Fitzgerald also pointed to another forward offseason addition, Stefan Noesen, who is having a career season.
Brett Pesce, Brenden Dillon and Johnathan Kovacevic bolstered the blue line, as well.
“All the pieces were what we needed, but again, it goes back to Sheldon and putting everything together and playing the right away,” Fitzgerald said. “You can be talented, you can be strong, you can defend, you can do all that — but if you’re not connected and there’s no cohesiveness then it’s all for nothing.”
The Devils GM pointed to Wednesday’s practice in Newark before the team flew to Toronto — how impressed he was at how hard the team practiced after playing two games in three days. It spoke to the “buy-in,” the GM said, that Keefe and his players have.
You want to talk buy-in? How about shaving off nearly a goal against per game? Through Wednesday, the Devils are fourth in the league in average goals against (2.50) after being 26th to end last season (3.43).
That’s coaching, goaltending and an improved blue line, as well as buy-in from every single player.
The scoring has remained about the same: 11th in the league through Wednesday (3.11) after finishing 12th last season (3.22). Perhaps that’s a bit lower than you might think for a Jack Hughes-led offense, but given the defensive prowess, it’s a very healthy balance.
And there’s no cheating for offense. The Devils are playing the right way.
“We’re definitely not cheating for offense, but I would also say we’ve got certain players with low shooting percentage, too, and we believe in (positive) regression that some of that will come back at some point,” said Fitzgerald. “But as long as we’re defending and playing the right way and staying on top of people and, more importantly, respecting play away from the puck — from where I sit, we do.”
Contenders always try to add a piece or two before the trade deadline. The sooner, the better in an ideal world, Fitzgerald said, but that’s easier said than done.
“The value of trading early, you bring in a player that maybe by the deadline feels like he’s been there from training camp. And that’s big, because I went through it as a player myself,” he said. “I’ve always said you build your team in the summer. You have your core pieces. But that doesn’t mean you don’t add.”
The Devils had their pro scouting meetings last week where they fleshed out an early game plan for the deadline and identified names of interest around the league.
“Once you identify these players, which we have, you just start going down that list and peck away at it,” Fitzgerald said. “And if a team is willing to trade somebody early, great. If not, you just move on and move on and maybe there’s a circle back to some teams.”
So many teams, especially in the East, are still in it that the list of sellers is not very big yet, Fitzgerald pointed out.
“There’s a lot of wait and see,” he said. “I do get a lot of (from other GMs), ‘The next couple of weeks are important for my team to see where we’re at.’”
The Devils’ primary goal? To add another center.
“Somebody that can come in and maybe give us that extra oomph — and maybe properly slot people to make us a strong, four-line team come playoff time,” Fitzgerald said. “And build depth because of injuries. And build competition, too. We love what we have. I just really want to add on top of that.”
It’s also possible to settle for a winger depending on what the market dictates, but a center is the objective.
“When you look at how many players can play other positions, you can’t have enough centers,” Fitzgerald said. “You just can’t.”
That puts the Devils in a position similar to the Maple Leafs, among other Eastern contenders.
So from Ryan O’Reilly at the very top of every team’s dream list for centers (there’s no guarantee he even moves since he’s not a pending UFA, but more on that later) to Yanni Gourde to Scott Laughton (who has played mostly wing this season), Fitzgerald will be assessing the options. He couldn’t get into names himself for tampering reasons, but league sources confirmed he’s started to check in on all the obvious center targets.
And is he looking for a traditional rental player or a hockey trade for someone with term?
“I’m open-minded,” Fitzgerald said. “Ideally, you want someone with term so that this is your group even for a two-year run. But if not, I’m willing to pay for a rental. And then are there options to re-sign him?”
Could a rental player quickly grow fond of his new surroundings?
“I believe in New Jersey,” Fitzgerald said. “I believe in what we’re building toward. I believe in the fan base. There’s so much good there that it’s my job and my team’s job to sell it to people. There’s no better way to sell it to a potential free agent than bringing him in and showing him this is a really good place to play. It’s a hidden gem. Not that many people really understand it until once you get inside.”
The Devils feel bullish as they enter what they hope is an exciting era for them.
“Our goal is to become a Stanley Cup-contending team year in and year out, and our window just opened,” Fitzgerald said.
The emphasis is on “goal.” They’re not saying they know for sure they’re there yet.
But it sure looks promising.
If he’s available, there will be no shortage of suitors for Ryan O’Reilly, who has 13 goals and 26 points this season. (Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images)Regarding O’Reilly
I inquired into the Ryan O’Reilly situation Thursday just for clarity because the next seven weeks may start to get a little goofy with trade speculation and there’s no doubt he would be at the top of the list for teams needing a center upgrade — if he’s available.
First, the Nashville Predators are not actively shopping the 33-year-old center, who has two and a half years left on his contract at a $4.5 million cap hit.
As general manager Barry Trotz told me last month the day after the Alexandre Carrier trade to Montreal, his plan is not to tear things down but rather be aggressive again next summer with the expectation/hope that his team will bounce back and be in the thick of things next season. So O’Reilly absolutely still fits into that moving forward.
However, given where they are in the standings currently, the Predators have no choice but to listen if teams call with serious interest. Just don’t waste their time. It would have to be something that makes total sense for Nashville — a serious offer, not, “Here’s a draft pick. Let me take him off your hands.”
And while O’Reilly doesn’t have no-trade protection, there’s an understanding of wanting to keep him in the fold and treat him with the utmost respect.
Again, the Preds aren’t shopping him. But they will listen on him.
Also, if O’Reilly’s agent, Pat Morris, went to the Predators and said, “This is a team that would really interest Ryan,” that could push Trotz to investigate further. But as of Thursday, that hadn’t happened.
So we’ll see where it goes.
(Top photo: Elsa / Getty Images)