Hey, Devils Fans.
Thanks for all of your support on my last article. I am just as disappointed as you fans are that the team didn’t have the response we were all hoping they’d have in Pittsburgh.
And, unfortunately, with that loss, the noise becomes even louder as we approach today’s game in WPG, with the one inevitable, burning question everyone wants answered:
"Now what?"
SAL, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
Lots of people are asking me, as a former Captain, how I would handle this situation if I were in the room right now.
And quite frankly, this is all so unprecedented and so unlike anything I’ve ever gone through in my career. When I think back on teams I’ve been on that have struggled or missed the playoffs, the expectations of those teams were extremely low to begin with. There were no overwhelming surprises in those seasons when we had winless streaks, goal droughts, bad luck, and all the other failures that occurred along the way. On top of that, I never had to deal with and navigate the double-edged sword of social media!
In my last couple of seasons with St. Louis, they were at the beginning of a long rebuild and eventually won their first Stanley Cup 10 years later, and it was a similar early-rebuild stage for my last three years as the Captain of the Devils.
Think about it, Zach Praise leaves the year after we went to the Stanley Cup Finals, which would become my first season as the Captain, and then Ilya Kovalchuk “retires” the following year to go back to Russia. That was a combined 60+ goals a year out the door in a matter of two seasons. So, you, the Devils fans, weren't thinking we were going to go deep into the playoffs again during my tenure as the Captain. We were in survival, full-rebuild mode, and expected to lose, which ultimately led to Nico Hischier being drafted 1st overall a few years later.
In this current situation, it’s not as simple as “go play better." The team’s expectations were to contend for a Stanley Cup this season and next. No one expected that we would find ourselves here today, midway through this season, talking about this team trying to avoid a situation of possibly missing the playoffs entirely.
The vibes and the energy around the team are just off. Players are scoring on themselves. Jack and Bratter can’t score on breakaways right now. Jaker and Marky can’t leave the net to play the puck in routine situations without it being turned over to the other team and ending up in the back of their net. And above all, I’ve never had to deal with a young player on my team going through an emotional moment like Luke did last week, especially when you’re relying on that player to try to help you tie and win a game. It was only 2-1 with half of the game to go...
So, I wish I could sit here and say I have a clear-cut answer, but that would be irresponsible of me, as I am not in the room daily or part of management. It is overwhelming to try to compartmentalize everything this team is enduring right now.
One thing I will say, I know the organization has to be extremely careful and strategic with any decision(s) they may make, on or off the ice, because the entire NHL world is watching this team with a microscope at the moment.
And speaking of these decisions, it does look and sound like Dougie’s time as a Devil is nearing an end, based on his agent's quote and the fact that he is a healthy scratch for this game. This appears to be the first “move” the team is making, but it needs to happen sooner rather than later. From experience, you can't keep a player around long in a situation like this, when a player's agent publicly acknowledges that the team is trying to move his player. It is detrimental to the atmosphere in the locker room on so many levels. Furthermore, hearing from his agent that the Devils tried to move Dougie at the most recent NHL Draft is most likely why his play has not met his standards this season.
Dougie has every right to veto a trade to a team not on his approved 10-team trade list; he earned that, and I respect his position wholeheartedly. The issue arises when you are not able to back it up on the ice, and the unfortunate fact is Dougie has 3 PTS in his last 26 GP and 10 total PTS this season — His fewest through 40 GP of a season in his career. Call it business or not, but with the team free-falling, I also entirely agree with Fitzy’s support of Sheldon’s decision to healthy scratch Dougie for the betterment of the lineup. Sheldon made a comment today that Dougie could potentially play tomorrow in the second half of the back-to-back as they ease in Kovacevic, so I would love to see him finish strong here if the opportunity presents itself.
Again, the amount of noise that the players are having to play through right now is crazy... beyond anything I have ever experienced. But still, with all that being said, nobody is feeling sorry for anyone in that room. The team and players have to own this. As difficult as it is to say, you have to show up to the rink as a pro and block out the noise, look at executing your next play, your next shift, and put together periods, one at a time.
There has to be a realization that you’ve still got 38 more games ahead of you, which is plenty of runway to find your way back into the playoff picture. In the end, the overarching solution to all of your problems is winning, and as a player, results always start with putting in the consistent, day-to-day work, regardless of everything else going on around you.
Just play hockey!
LUKE'S MOMENT
Nobody wants to hear any positives right now, and I get that. But it’s important to count and note every single “small win” this team has when they occur in stretches like this. Dano and I talked about this on the air in Pittsburgh, as certain things can get lost in a game like that, but these are the moments that can go a long way toward righting the ship in the bigger picture.
For me, the important moment in PIT was Luke scoring the team’s first goal in over seven periods of hockey, dating back to his emotional moment in the Carolina game. I can’t imagine having to experience what he did as a 22-year-old defenseman, and getting this moment from him was huge.
Yes, it was disheartening, though, watching the team fail to use Luke’s moment as a catalyst to come back in this game, just like they did in their CBW on New Year's Eve in Columbus. But again... that doesn’t mean you don’t recognize this as a “small win” that could have a larger positive impact on helping this team move forward.
KOVACEVIC RETURNS
Another "small win" that could be huge is the return of Johanthan Kovacevic, arguably one of the best shutdown defensemen in the league last season. His impact on the PK and 5v5, paired with Jonas Siegenthaler, was astronomical. Absolute beast. Now, not to get ahead of myself, as he has missed an entire training camp and half of a season, but his presence on and off the ice will provide a large boost to this team. I just hope it doesn't take him too many games to get back into rhythm.
UNFORGIVING SCHEDULE
Despite the small wins, there is still work to be done.
And as if the own goals, bad deflections into their own net, injuries (including off-ice injuries), goal droughts, misplays with the puck, etc., weren't enough tests from the hockey gods, well, now let's talk about how the Devils' schedule aligns over these next two games.
First, you are set to face a WPG team today that just finally snapped an 11-game winless streak, and is a candidate to be the first team in modern-NHL history to finish dead last in the league after winning the President’s Trophy the previous season. Like the Devils, WPG also has only 13 points in their last 20 games (.325 PTS%), tied for the worst of any team in this stretch. They, too, are in dire straits right now to string some wins together. As they say, misery loves company, and there’s going to be a lot of eyes on this game, especially being in a Canadian market.
And then, as if that wasn’t enough pressure, you look at tomorrow's game... on the second half of a back-to-back, and your last game before returning home to face your fanbase... It's against none other than the MIN and Quinn Hughes.
You just can’t make it up. You’re the first team Vancouver plays after trading Quinn (and they beat you), and then, in one of the worst stretches of Devils hockey in recent memory, your “last chance” to calm things down on the road is in Minnesota, where Quinn was traded to. This is why I say things are unprecedented right now...
It’s incomprehensible for me to grasp this stretch of hockey and why it continues to haunt the Devils in so many different ways.
But I’ll reiterate it again: Winning solves everything.
These are not excuses. Filter out the noise, and just play hockey! That is all you can control.
Two wins go a long way right now!
Tune into this afternoon’s pregame show at 1:30 p.m., as Rachel and I will break down the “Monentum Moment Killers” that are losing the Devils games right now, as well as Luke’s big moments on the road recently.
Then, Don will join me as I reminisce with him on my early days growing up in WPG (...see the pictures I will show him below).
LGD
-Sal
