Devils Fired GM, Miss Playoffs, Look to Rebuild

0:00It's April 8th. You're listening to NHL News today, AI Power coverage of your team. I'm Corey with the story. The New Jersey Devils are out of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the 11th time in 14 seasons folks. They finish with a 40 win, 35 loss, all three overtime loss record, and got officially eliminated with a 5-1 loss against the world. Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday. This marks their first, back-to-back misses since before their 13 straight appearances ended in the 2010 season, and just yesterday, they... Fire General Manager Tom Fitzgerald, after seven years on the job. Earlier this week, the team started hot at home, going nine wins, zero losses, one tie at a potential center. But then came the crash, with a brutal home slump from late November to late February, where they won just 4 of 18, and ranked dead last in the league for points percentage there. Injuries piled on two, by Jack Hughes missing 21 games, leaving them 8 and 13 without

1:01him, plus key guys like the Donov, Noeson, and several defensemen sidelined. Players and coach Sheldon Keefe, owned up to the mess, taking blame for the GM shakeup, and pointing to that mid-season drought as the killer. For mid-November to late February, over 40 games, they dropped from top five offense and special teams to league were scoring at, 2.13 goals per game. Last year they bowed out in the first round, so this repeat disappointment hits hard for franchise chasing that next deep run. On the bright side, Jack Hughes led with 72 points and 57 games, and became a hero, scoring the overtime winner for Team USA's gold at. The 20-26 Winter Olympics, coming back even stronger with 36 points in his last 21. New additions like Cody Glass hit a career high 18 goals after that March trade, and rookie Arsene Gritziuk flashed with 31 points while, owning tough match-ups. Looking ahead, they've got unrestricted free agents like Datanov, and a few restricted

2:04ones including goalie Niko Dawes, plus five draft picks in 20. With a critical offseason brewing, the Devils could reload and flip the script next year if they stay healthy and build on those bright spots.