This was an excerpt from this week’s five observations column. So, check out that column as well on Hockey Hot Stove, along with the other fine Canucks, Devils, Jets, and Senators content courtesy of the suit people in the Philly area.
It’s easy to forget how good the Canucks were since it seems like a lifetime ago. They won the Pacific Division in 2023-24 with a 50-23-9 record and started 2024-25 with a 14-7-4 record, which wasn’t dominant but still made the Canucks one of the best teams in the league. Then everything fell apart.
When the Canucks lost to the Edmonton Oilers in the 2024 Second Round, they were a team on the rise. The core was set in place, and for the first time in a while there was stability. At the time, nobody could have predicted them to get dismantled, yet that’s what happened with the Quinn Hughes trade being the significant blow. So, while it’s unlikely that another team with a great roster goes through the same thing, it’s possible and can happen with the three teams that have been great in recent years.
Devils Might Look At Significant Changes
Their loss on Tuesday was historically bad. 9-0 defeats usually result in changes one way or another. It was a game where they forgot to show up against the New York Islanders, and there was a feeling that they were allowing a goal on every shift. That’s what it feels like.
For a team to play like that and follow it up with another lifeless performance, they have to be checked out or not mentally there. The Devils have the talent and have shown the hockey world what they can do but it’s clear that this team isn’t in a space to play that way. The Quinn Hughes trade rumors and speculation clearly got to them but the problems go back further regarding trade rumors.
Related: Devils Frustration Is A Decade In The Making
The Devils general manager (GM), Tom Fitzgerald, wanted players to waive their no-trade clauses but they said no. Veteran players who are eager to finish their careers on Cup-contending teams aren’t interested in being sent to rebuilding teams, which is what a Hughes or similar offer would be. The bigger issue is the message Fitzgerald sent when asking players to remove their trade protection, only to be denied. Yes, it’s part of the business, yet the Devils don’t want these players and would prefer them elsewhere. And there’s still on the team (it’s like a breakup where one person won’t move out).
Fitzgerald put himself in this spot. He’s handed out multiple long-term contracts with no-trade clauses and made big swings in the past, signing Dougie Hamilton and Ondrej Palat while acquiring Timo Meier, Tyler Toffoli, and Jacob Markstrom. Those swings and misses leave him hesitant to make a move, and they leave the Devils with minimal assets to make a big trade. Fitzgerald put himself in a mess, and now he’s left with a team that can’t change and is flawed.
That’s the other issue with the Devils. They are a flawed team and can’t win in the long run with this core. Multiple talent evaluators around the league have noted that the Devils built around Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, and Nico Hischier can win in the regular season and be a fun team to watch but not make a deep playoff run.
The big thing is the Devils don’t have a forward who can take the target off of Hughes’ back. Every great team has a power forward, often on the same line as their star player, who both takes pressure off them and prevents the player from getting pushed around (think about Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr). To be fair, Fitzgerald attempted to add that forward with the Meier and Toffoli trades but both moves flopped.
The Devils should be fine in the long run. One scout noted that they just need some saves, which was evident in the 9-0 drubbing. If they get baseline goaltending from Markstrom and Jake Allen, they’ll be fine, and they have enough talent to turn things around.
That said, it’s easy to see a scenario where things don’t improve, and they must make changes. Those changes will start at the top, and the Devils can be the one team to bring in Pete DeBoer, who previously coached the team, as an executive. Having him in the organization would light a fire under the roster and might allow them to turnover the roster in the process. The bottom line is that things are trending toward change; whether it’s significant or not is the question.
Senators Wanted to Avoid This At All Costs But Might Anyway
There are plenty of rumors and speculation about Linus Ullmark, and that’s not worth discussing, and frankly, not appropriate. What is worth looking at is the Senators and their timeline, which mirrors the Canucks from a few years back. They were a team on the rise last season and poised to contend for a while. Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle are star forwards to build around while Jake Sanderson emerged as a top-of-the-league defenseman. Pair that with the right depth pieces, and the Senators, who made the playoffs last season, presumably would be a top team in the Eastern Conference.
The public opinion on the Senators is that they’ll be fine. Even as they stumbled out of the gate and went through slumps throughout the season, multiple scouts noted that they are good enough to rebound and become the team everyone expected them to be when the season began. Even during the recent stretch, which includes four losses in a row and seven in the last nine games, the sentiment around the Senators is a positive one, where the core can and will guide them to the playoffs.
The thing is, the season can fall off the rails. The Senators have the second-worst record in the conference, and the 13 games between now and the Olympic break can determine whether they can contend this season or not. It’s hard to see the Senators breaking up the team, especially the core, yet it’s always something to monitor.
In their case, it’s about making one big move and retooling from there. Claude Giroux can get the Ray Bourque treatment, where they move him to a Cup contender to finish his career. Dylan Cozens, Shane Pinto, and Drake Batherson are all locked into long-term deals but the no-trade protection for all three hasn’t kicked in yet. If the Senators want to retool, they can trade one of those players, knowing they can get a significant return, and work from there.
Jets Are in a Tough Spot
If there’s any team that will make significant moves following a rough season, it’s the Jets. This season is a mess, and they might have no other option. The Jets aren’t the type of team that will do anything significant midseason but after a rough summer where they feel the absence of Nikolaj Ehlers, they’ll be an active team and might look to refuel the pipeline, which hasn’t been great for a while.
The catch with the Jets, something worth repeating, is that their hands are tied. The first issue is the roster, which has multiple immovable players, even those who aren’t building blocks but have trade protection. The other obstacle for the Jets is the ability to rebuild because their options are limited. It’s well documented that Winnipeg isn’t a destination and has trouble attracting free agents or elite players in trades. If they hit the reset button, the only options to build up a contender are through the draft and development.
That said, the Jets are awful this season and, in the big picture, aren’t built to compete with the rest of their division. Last season was the ceiling where Connor Hellebuyck played at a Hart Trophy level, and the rest of the roster overachieved (they still came up short). Their issue is their lack of star power, and the best way to add that is through the draft or acquiring prospects with high upside. A Dylan DeMelo or Dylan Samberg trade can happen this season and get things started.
Other Teams To Watch
The New York Rangers are another team that might change things from the top down. It’s been a rough season, and it wasn’t long ago that they won the Presidents’ Trophy and were in the Eastern Conference Final. This team has gotten stale, and they must make some changes soon before they are a complete mess (if the 10-2 loss wasn’t a warning sign).
A few weeks back, the same question was asked about the Toronto Maple Leafs. Would changes be on the horizon? How far would they go to overhaul things? They’ve won five of their last six games and are back in the hunt for a playoff spot (their latest win, ironically, was a stomping over the Canucks). They replaced power play coach Marc Savard earlier in the season, and since then, the unit has been a strength. Sometimes, it’s not the big change but just a change that gets the gears going and the team to turn a corner.
