Saturday, December 27, 2014

My Devils Fandom is at a Crossroads

Fridays's news got me thinking...differently...about my Devils fandom. Let me put this out there - I am NOT thinking of jumping ship or even dropping my season tickets - but for the first time in my time as Devils fan (which dates back to somewhere between 1987 and 1995), the Devils have pretty much hit rock bottom.

After Lou Lamoriello took over as GM (among other roles) in the summer of 1987, the Devils made the playoffs for the first time in their history (which dates back to the 1982-83 season) in 1988, after which the Devils had only missed twice before the summer of 2011. They've missed the playoffs 3 times in 4 seasons since then, with the chance of making it 4 in 5 if they can't turn things around in the next 3 1/2 months. I never knew the days of struggle. And I really didn't know much of the Devils life before their first Stanley Cup. This is foreign territory to me.

For the first time since I was even aware of the New Jersey Devils, people are saying that Lou Lamoriello's time has come and gone. He's a Hall of Fame GM whose time to leave was maybe as much as 10 years ago. So there's the potential for a new era in my Devils fandom. For the first time since I became a full-on Devils fan, Martin Brodeur isn't with the club, which is certainly a new era in my Devils fandom.

And another first in my time...and maybe it will never be publically admitted...it's time for rebuilding the franchise in New Jersey. We got new owners in 2013. Lou's closer to the end than the beginning. And one thing we've learned by the firing of a bad coach was that there's a lot of player problems too (too old, young kids not developing, lost talent).

It's definitely a crossroads for my Devils fandom. Time for the team to take this coaching change, and maybe this season, and turn the corner.



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