{"id":396587,"date":"2026-01-08T00:53:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T00:53:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/396587\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T00:53:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T00:53:16","slug":"if-not-the-gm-or-coach-devils-must-shake-up-the-core","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/396587\/","title":{"rendered":"If Not the GM or Coach, Devils Must Shake Up the Core"},"content":{"rendered":"

When both general manager, Tom Fitzgerald, and head coach, Sheldon Keefe were both at the Prudential Center on Wednesday for practice, New Jersey Devils<\/a> ownership made their choice.<\/p>\n

After a disaster on Long Island Tuesday night, everyone kept their jobs.<\/p>\n

Keefe then addressed the media, explaining the Devils were in \u201ccrisis.\u201d However, he did not speak like someone who believed he was about to lose his job.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not my first crisis in my coaching career, and I don\u2019t plan on wasting it,\u201d Keefe said on Wednesday. \u201cSo today was an important day for me and for our group and for the players themselves. [It was] focus on what you can control. Today is a good practice day, and then you get an opportunity tomorrow to get out and play. Now, we\u2019ve been in these situations before, maybe not as bad as last night, but it shouldn\u2019t take a wake-up call like this. We\u2019ve had too many of them, but this is where we\u2019re at. Let\u2019s be real. That\u2019s the first thing. Let\u2019s embrace who we are and what\u2019s going on. Let\u2019s not kid ourselves about who we think we are. This is where we\u2019re at. So let\u2019s get to working in fixing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are a lot of folks are to blame here for what\u2019s thus far been a failed season. The Devils GM for the roster construction. The head coach, for perhaps not structuring his roster to its strengths, and a questionable call to let goaltender Jacob Markstrom \u201cown it,\u201d leaving him in for a full 60 in a 9-0 loss at UBS Arena to the New York Islanders. And the Devils roster, for allowing themselves to get to this point. <\/p>\n

However, Fitzgerald and Keefe are still here. That says one thing.<\/p>\n

Ownership is giving the Devils GM at least one more shot to make things right. If no one lost their job after Tuesday night\u2019s nightmare, then everyone is at least riding out the rest of the season.<\/p>\n

Whether that\u2019s the right call or not doesn\u2019t matter at this point. That\u2019s just the situation at hand.<\/p>\n

So, what can Fitzgerald do?<\/p>\n

Well, trading Dougie Hamilton<\/a> or Ondrej Palat has proven to be too big of a mountain to climb. Those deals are more likely to come in the offseason when things are a bit more flexible.<\/p>\n

Dealing minor assets gets the Devils nowhere.<\/p>\n

As rock bottom as this all feels, New Jersey still only remains three points out of the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Suffice to say, the Devils need a shock to their system. Something to say, \u201cNo one is safe.\u201d <\/p>\n

With everyone so close in the standings, there aren\u2019t many true sellers right now. So what\u2019s going to pique an opposing GMs interest?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time to take a hard look at trading a piece of the core.<\/p>\n

Amid the Quinn Hughes<\/a> speculation, it felt like the Devils were waiting for something to happen, as they were front and center in the trade rumors. Ultimately, Quinn unexpectedly landed in Minnesota, and there was certainly disappointment in the locker room, whether that\u2019s because certain players knew their names were part of trade discussions, or because there was no impact player coming to save them.<\/p>\n

In fact, it still feels like the Devils are waiting for something to happen.<\/p>\n

First and foremost, the Devils need to inject some truth serum into the Hughes brothers. After how Luke Hughes<\/a> was verbally assaulted a few nights ago, and the continued hardships Jack Hughes<\/a> is part of, whether he\u2019s part of the problem or not, Devils ownership should be asking them just how committed they are to the organization.<\/p>\n

That might sound silly after Luke signed a seven-year contract in the summer, and with four years remaining on Jack\u2019s contract after this season. However, the circumstances have changed. No one foresaw the Quinn debacle happening when and how it did. <\/p>\n

If it\u2019s good news, and they\u2019re 100% fully committed, great. If they\u2019re 99.9% committed or lower, cut bait. Retrieve a Quinn-like haul for the brothers, and accelerate a youth movement that\u2019s not a total rebuild.<\/p>\n

Otherwise, it\u2019s time to take a look at Jesper Bratt<\/a>, Nico Hischier<\/a>, and Timo Meier<\/a>.<\/p>\n

These are the core pieces not named Hughes. Dawson Mercer, to an extent, too, although he moves further away from the \u201ccore\u201d as we check days on the calendar.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald should be looking to move one of these players to shock the system. In all honestly, it\u2019s unlikely that it\u2019s Hischier. So you\u2019re looking at Bratt, Meier, and Mercer. Then, you\u2019re probably attaching what you need to get a deal done.<\/p>\n

The Devils need someone who is going to be of significance in return. I\u2019m not suggesting that<\/a> Brady Tkachuk is even available, but you\u2019re looking to deal for someone in return that will make that sort of impact. <\/p>\n

An elite presence on and off the ice, someone who is going to shake up the culture, bring a bit of snarl, and hold his teammates accountable.<\/p>\n

It feels as though some players feel too comfortable in their current situation. Asked Brenden Dillon after Tuesday\u2019s loss if he felt that was the case. He didn\u2019t say it was, but his body language did. Here\u2019s how he answered the prompt.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of these questions are above my pay grade,\u201d Dillon explained. \u201cI think we\u2019ve just gotta show our care level when you\u2019re going out, whether it\u2019s finishing checks or not turning pucks over when you\u2019re trying to do the right things. Scoring has been tough for us this year. That\u2019s the reality, scoring goals for us has been tough. So with that being said, you can\u2019t give up free ones. You can\u2019t, and how you start the game is so important to set the tone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Something isn\u2019t right in the locker room. Night after night, the Devils are finding new, more embarrassing ways to lose.<\/p>\n

If ownership isn\u2019t going to make a statement and remove one of the men in charge of the roster or bench, then they should be pushing for management to make a statement and shock the system.<\/p>\n

The country club needs to close. The Devils need new blood.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"avatar\"<\/p>\n

\t\tJames is the New Jersey Devils beat reporter for New Jersey Hockey Now on Sportsnaut and the PHWAs New … More about James Nichols<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When both general manager, Tom Fitzgerald, and head coach, Sheldon Keefe were both at the Prudential Center on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":396588,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5109],"tags":[201,3723,5,1272,3170,1769,576,151,5185,5184,4,1602,886,1773,3502],"class_list":{"0":"post-396587","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-jersey-devils","8":"tag-devils","9":"tag-devils-news","10":"tag-hockey","11":"tag-jack-hughes","12":"tag-jesper-bratt","13":"tag-luke-hughes","14":"tag-new-jersey","15":"tag-new-jersey-devils","16":"tag-newjersey","17":"tag-newjerseydevils","18":"tag-nhl","19":"tag-nico-hischier","20":"tag-sheldon-keefe","21":"tag-timo-meier","22":"tag-tom-fitzgerald"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115856749771489523","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=396587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396587\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/396588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=396587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=396587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=396587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}