The New Jersey Devils held their exit interviews and the biggest takeaway was the players disappointment in how their season ended.
The time for talking is over for the New Jersey Devils. There has to be action heading into next season.
Heading into the 2021-22 NHL season, the New Jersey Devils wanted to play meaningful games. That did not happen down the stretch. And for the fourth consecutive season, and ninth time in 10 years, the Devils are going to miss the playoffs. For a team that was a perennial contender, it has been a decade of disappointment.
-
Ep 51: Stanley Cup Playoff Bubble Teams; Connor McDavid On WBC Successby Full Press Coverage on March 22, 2023 at 11:54 pm
Jim and Chris are back and are talking about the playoff races in the East […]
The New Jersey Devils wanted to take the next step this season, however, they fell short of those expectations. And those statements were echoed by the players throughout Day One of exit interviews.
“We definitely fell short, we had high expectations for ourselves and everybody was not quite where we needed to be just yet. There’s steps we took steps in the right direction, you could see some of our players took key steps in the right direction,” Damon Severson said in his end-of-year availability. “It was a tough year, we’re not in the playoffs again, but there are pieces in place, and that we keep saying that we’re going to have to stop saying that pretty much now.”
Severson has been highly outspoken this year in regards to building a winning culture and being part of a winning team. He doubled down on his comments by stating the talking has to stop about having the pieces in place and more action needs to be taken so the Devils do not go again this time next year.
“Next year if we’re still here talking when other teams are still playing… it will be a huge disappointment for the organization,” Severson said.
And he is right. At some point, the Devils have to put a competitive club on the ice. The talk about next year has to go away. New Jersey made progress this year by having four players record 20 or more goals. However, it was not good enough to make the playoffs. And the Devils have not built on their last trip to the playoffs in 2018. In fact, they went backwards. The Devils have a nice young core to build around, but eventually, it has to translate to being better on the ice. It is all well and good to have a great prospect pool, but eventually, there has to be results.
“Disappointment is still there for sure. We wanted to play some meaningful games at the end of the year and make this playoff but unfortunately, in reality, we did not achieve our goal but it’s frustrating for me and our team,” Nico Hischier said in his year-end availability. “But still have to try to remember some positive things out of this season.”
Hischier was one of four players (Jack Hughes, Yegor Sharangovich, and Jesper Bratt) to record 20 or more goals. But he knows the attitude has to change this offseason for the team to get better. Not only for himself but the rest of the team as well. If the results are going to be different every player has to use their disappointment as fuel for next season. And just like Severson, Hischier pointed to the fact the New Jersey Devils have to start winning despite being a young team.
Around Full Press Hockey
NHL: The New Jersey Devils Future Is Bright And Could Be Now
NHL: Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald Looking To Build Towards The Future
NHL: Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald Says “The Answers Are In The Room…” But Are They?
NFL: FPC 2022 NFL Mock Draft 4.0: Getting Defensive Rather Early
Wrestling: NXT Black and Gold Shine In Loss To NXT 2.0 in War Games Match
PODCAST: Full Press NHL Podcast Ep 25: Eugene Melnyk Passes Away; NHL Salary Cap Rises
Hischier was not the only core player to speak his frustrations about the disappointment of this season. Jack Hughes who missed the remainder of the regular season with an injury was not happy about how the Devils finished the season.
“It’s frustrating,” said Jack Hughes in his year-end availability. “We want to be better in the standings. We want to be playing important hockey. It’s really hard to win, so I don’t want to come out here and throw all these expectations around and stuff, but we’ve got to have a good summer. Everyone has got to keep getting better. And it’s important that guys have to step up and have a big summer, get better, get stronger. And then we have got to come in next year and be rejuvenated and excited to go.”
Hughes showed he can be a breakout star in the NHL. Despite his injuries, he was still third on the team in points with 56. Hughes set career highs in points goals (26) and assists (30). If Hughes was not injured as often as he was, he was on pace to break the 30-goal mark. One thing Jack talked about was staying healthier. And when Hughes is in the lineup the Devils are a better team.
For his age, Hughes is showing great leadership qualities and echoed what Hischier talked about and that is it is an important summer for the New Jersey Devils. If they want to break the cycle of missing the playoffs everyone has to buy into the system and the work ethic. And for a competitive player like Hughes, he is tired of losing and it is just his third year in the league.
“‘I’m not enjoying this [losing]. Like I said, it’s really hard to win this league. But I’d like for our team and myself to be playing important hockey here down the stretch,” Hughes said. “So I mean, it’s been frustrating but at the end of the day, the season’s over. You have just got to go back and regroup, and be extremely excited for next season.”
Even newcomers Ryan Graves and Tomas Tatar expressed their disappointment in not making the playoffs this season. Both players know the Devils have to be better if they want to live up to their own internal expectations next season.
The Devils broke the cycle once as stated earlier. That was 2018 when Hischier and Bratt were just rookies. Since then four straight playoff misses. In order to get to the playoffs, the Devils have to be a consistent team night in and night out. That is something the Devils must be better at. Especially this summer.
With this much disappointment in the locker room, expect the players to have a different attitude next season.
-
Ep 51: Stanley Cup Playoff Bubble Teams; Connor McDavid On WBC Successby Full Press Coverage on March 22, 2023 at 11:54 pm
Jim and Chris are back and are talking about the playoff races in the East […]
-
Ep 50: Tampa Bay Lightning, Calgary, Playoff Races, Deadline Final Thoughtsby Full Press Coverage on March 11, 2023 at 12:40 pm
Jim and Chris discuss the Lightning's struggles, the Calgary Flames, and […]
-
The Battle for the Final Wild Card Spots in the Stanley Cup Playoffs is Onby Full Press Coverage on March 24, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Jim is back once again joined by Vox Media AM/FM NHL Analyst Bruce Zeman […]
-
Trip Around The NHL - Trade Deadline Reaction, Expansion and Stanley Cup Playoff Talkby Full Press Coverage on March 16, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Jim is back once again joined by Vox Media NHL Analyst Bruce Zeman to […]
-
Ep 80: Bruins Acquire Orlov, Hathaway; Pastrnak's Contract, Toronto Tripby Full Press Coverage on February 24, 2023 at 4:50 pm
Ian and Chris react to the Bruins acquisition of Dmitry Orlov and Garnet […]
-
Ep 79: Bruins Are A Wagon, Pastrnak Contract, Krejci, Trade Deadlineby Full Press Coverage on January 18, 2023 at 6:35 pm
Ian and Chris evaluate the red-hot Bruins halfway through the season. In […]
-
S4Ep22 - Stanley Cup Playoff Wild Card Racesby Jim Biringer on March 13, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Jim is back for a fourth season of the Final Word of Hockey as he looks at […]
-
S4Ep21 - NHL Trade Deadline Winners and Losersby Jim Biringer on March 6, 2023 at 1:00 pm
Jim is back for a fourth season of the Final Word of Hockey as he brings […]
-
Canucks at Blackhawks - Blues at Kingsby Broken Controller Media on March 26, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Stack the Pucks gives a breakdown of every NHL Game on the card. For more […]
-
Avalanche at Coyotes - Bruins at Hurricanes - Maple Leafs at Predatorsby Broken Controller Media on March 26, 2023 at 4:00 pm
Stack the Pucks gives a breakdown of every NHL Game on the card. For more […]
-
Capitals at Penguins -Golden Knights at Oilers - Blues at Ducksby Broken Controller Media on March 25, 2023 at 7:00 pm
Stack the Pucks gives a breakdown of every NHL Game on the card. For more […]
-
Blue Jackets at Canadiens - Senators at Devils - Maple Leafs at Hurricanesby Broken Controller Media on March 25, 2023 at 6:15 pm
Stack the Pucks gives a breakdown of every NHL Game on the card. For more […]
-
Episode #133: Plays of Coaches Pastby Full Press Coverage on March 24, 2023 at 6:14 pm
On the latest edition of The Calder Farmstead AHL Podcast, Sean and Sarah […]
-
Episode #132: The Playoffs Craicby Full Press Coverage on March 17, 2023 at 2:28 pm
On this edition of The Calder Farmstead, it’s a special St. Patrick’s […]
-
Renegades Of Puck Ep 735by Charlie Saunier on March 26, 2023 at 5:25 am
Ep 735 The Renegades Of Puck Recap 7-2 L Vs Kraken Preview Maple Leafs […]
-
Full Press Islanders - Friday, March 24thby Full Press Coverage on March 24, 2023 at 5:05 pm
The Isles got help yesterday in a massive way with the Pens and Panthers […]
-
Full Press Kraken - Friday, March 24thby Full Press Coverage on March 24, 2023 at 3:15 pm
Recap the loss to Nashville and look at the playoff picture. Learn more […]
-
Full Press Wild - Friday, March 24thby Full Press Coverage on March 24, 2023 at 2:30 pm
Today’s episode covered a disappointing loss to the Flyers, Boldly’s […]
Who are they kidding. New Jersey is far from being a playoff team…