Top Five Reasons for the Demise of the New Jersey Devils

The Top 5 Reasons for the New Jersey Devils Fall From Grace

Not making the playoffs was certainly not how the New Jersey Devils wanted to follow up a season where they went all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals much to the surprise of the rest of the league. However, that is exactly what happened.

After starting the lockout shortened season sizzling hot, they surprised all of the critics who dismissed them as a non-threat. Yet, less than half way into the 48-game quickie, the Devils’ fire fizzled and they fell apart. Two horrendous losing streaks, including a 10 game one which tied a franchise worst, more than sealed their fate. For the second time in three years, they will not be a part of the postseason party.

Prior to the 2010-11 campaign, the Devils had earned one of the eight coveted playoff berths for 13 years in a row. They would hoist three Stanley Cups during that run and appear in the finals one other time. As the team closes the chapter on a wasted year, there are a lot of question marks surrounding the team’s demise and overall poor performance. It is not hard to see how they fell out of playoff contention; they could not score.

It wasn’t their aging goaltenders. Save a couple of poor outings, both future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur and Johan Hedberg did their jobs. They kept the team in a position to win games. Unfortunately, the offense forgot where the goal line was.

Sure, many will point to the departure of former captain Zach Parise to the Minnesota Wild as the number one reason why, but was it?

Hardly, there are many causes for the Devils fall from grace and they start all the way at the top. Here are the five major reasons why the Devils are packing up their lockers instead of preparing for another run at Lord Stanley.

No. 5 Lou Lamoriello

General Manager Lou Lamoriello starts off the countdown at number five. Lamoriello built the empire on a no stars foundation. The Devils made the climb from the bottom to the top based on the ‘there’s no I in team’ concept. However, he forgot that motto when the organization sold the farm to keep Ilya Kovalchuk after he was traded from the then Atlanta Thrashers. It tied his hands financially and ultimately led to the loss of Parise which has kept him from being able to attract other top fish to the Garden State.

No. 4 Adam Oates

Former assistant coach Adam Oates grabs the number four spot. Oates was in charge of the offense and most notably the power play which actually had some punch last year. He left over the summer to take over as head coach for the Washington Capitals. The Caps stumbled at the start, but came on to win their division. Clearly, Oates had quite a bit to do with the Devils’ offense last season because they were completely at a loss for most of this one.

No. 3 Adam Henrique

Last year’s Calder Trophy finalist, Adam Henrique claims the number three spot. The youngster has what it takes to make it in the NHL which he showed last season, scoring two overtime goals in the playoffs. However, he suffered from the dreaded sophomore slump for most of this one. His scoring was spotty and he seemed to struggle with his confidence more times than not.

No. 2 Travis Zajac

Center Travis Zajac skates into the number two spot. After missing most of last season with an Achilles injury, Zajac started off the season by signing an eight-year contract extension for some big bucks. Yet, he might as well have been in the stands this year as well. Zajac spent most of the season absent from the score sheet. Sure, he was one of the hardest working guys out there, but you wouldn’t know it from his stats.

No. 1 Ilya Kovalchuk

Number one honors go to Russian sniper Ilya Kovalchuk. Kovalchuk was a scoring machine with the Thrashers, but he has yet to put up those kinds of numbers with the Devils. If you want to be paid the obscene money then you had better be prepared to skate out there night after night and earn it. There’s no denying the talent, but Devils’ fans are still waiting for the payoff.