hf101 Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 So old Lou has finally stepped down - (hard to believe) but not out, as he will remain President of Hockey Operations. "It's the right thing. We have to be honest. It's the right time," Lamoriello said. As with most of Lou's moves over the years this one comes via complete surprise. Ray Shero will assume duties of GM immediately and will hire the Devils next coach ( Dan Blysma ??)As for now the entire management staff will stay intact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notfondajane Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 It's nice that he found a job quick! I believe that he never should have been fired from the Pens management team. Disco Dan should have been the only one let go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idahophilly Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 Ray Shero will assume duties of GM immediately and will hire the Devils next coach ( Dan Blysma ??) God I hope so. It will give me a reason to hate the Devils again. The Devils will then be like the mini Penguins without the talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 Well...people can say what they want about Shero, but the Devils could have done much worse here. Did some checking on the guy and the NJ Devils are getting a guy who is experienced in trying to raise or revive franchises.He was on hand when the Ottawa Senators came into the league and worked to get that group towards contention later on....same with Nashville.He did those as an assistant GM. And of course, there is no denying that he helped keep the Penguins a winning franchise (granted with mega stars Crosby and Malkin on hand) for many years. So, the man knows what it's like to work with blue collar types and big name star players alike. His job with the Devils will likely resemble more the work he did with the Sens and Preds, as those teams were still basically expansion teams still with little to no 'star power' (sorta like NJ is now), yet he helped form a foundation that later saw those teams become competitive then true contenders after that. He has a few young pieces to work with in NJ (Henrique, Gelinas, Larson, just to name a few) and I thought I read somewhere that his preference had always been to build from the goalie on out...and in that regard, he has a good netminder in Cory Schneider to start his tenure there. Shero, over the years, has also seemed to have mastered the art of 'the deal', as we have seen in Pittsburgh, and always seems to be able to get players that on the surface, don't seem like much, but when fitted with the correct complimentary players, work pretty well. No doubt, even though they say that the rest of the coaching staff is in place, once he hires his own coach, I am sure that coach will want his own staff under him, so if I were current NJ coaches, I'd start looking to see what other opportunities are available elsewhere. Some may look at this as 'Re-tread City', but to me, New Jersey is getting a proven winner in the FO department.As always, the proof will be in the development of the players he has (or can acquire via trade, free agency or the draft), but I think the Devils did well here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDevil Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 That's so true about this being in typical Lou fashion, completely out of nowhere. Definitely did not see this coming. But Lou is in his 70's and really has nothing left to prove, so it was probably time. I'm not sure how much of this was his idea and how much was pressure from ownership, and we'll probably never know because of how tight lipped Lou is about what goes on behind closed doors.As for Shero, I wasn't really a fan of his last few years in Pittsburgh, but I'm taking a wait and see approach with him. The fact that Lou reached out to him to be his successor says a lot. It'll be interesting to see what he does with a team that still needs quite a bit of building up front. He doesn't have the luxury of having Crosby and Malkin. He does have a solid foundation with Schneider in goal and the kids on defense though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 I question if he will be able to leave Shero alone, let him be his own man...that will be hard for him to do, take a back seat and for the first time in decades, let someone else make decisions that will affect his beloved Devils. @MadDevil Yeah, the Devils have some nice young d-men...and a horse with Schneider in net.....if he had a better team in front of him, he'd be a top 10 goalie, I do believe. The Devils need to hit the forward position HARD....in the draft and UFA. That offense needs creativity and goals....REAL BAD> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 I question if he will be able to leave Shero alone, let him be his own man...that will be hard for him to do, take a back seat and for the first time in decades, let someone else make decisions that will affect his beloved Devils. @MadDevil Yeah, the Devils have some nice young d-men...and a horse with Schneider in net.....if he had a better team in front of him, he'd be a top 10 goalie, I do believe. The Devils need to hit the forward position HARD....in the draft and UFA. That offense needs creativity and goals....REAL BAD> Maybe Lamoriello, in his advanced years, is more mellow and willing to let the people he hires actually do their jobs. Over in baseball, when he was alive, I understand George Steinbrennar was the ULTIMATE pest with regards to getting in his own people's way......but as he got older, he relented a bit, and actually let his GM's, managers, and everyone else do the jobs they were hired for without his constant butting in.......and his Yankees were better for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Over in baseball, when he was alive, I understand George Steinbrennar was the ULTIMATE pest with regards to getting in his own people's way......but as he got older, he relented a bit, and actually let his GM's, managers, and everyone else do the jobs they were hired for without his constant butting in.......and his Yankees were better for it. Unless your name was Billy Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polaris922 Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Good for Shero. I didn't blame him for the Pens' short post-seasons, and thought he made a lot of good moves as GM. Best of luck to him against everybody but the Pens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notfondajane Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 He made the mistake of not firing Dan Blysma! Which in my opinion was the reason he was terminated by the Penguins! Hopefully,for his sake,he won't hire him to coach or any other position in the organization! Good luck Ray! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notfondajane Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Unless your name was Billy Martin lol very very true! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDevil Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 I just really hope Shero doesn't get pressured into doing something stupid by ownership. If they pushed Lou out they may be looking to make a splash instead of building the team properly through the draft and smart trades/signings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojo1917 Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 I think Rejean is a good hockey man. I am not happy to see him remain in the god-darned division. If left to his own devices the Devils will be good again quickly. I wonder if he can still Jedi mind trick other gms into just giving him players... the Matt Niskanen throw in is still one of the most unbelievable deals from his time with the Pens, The Pens didn't come close to upgrading his position with Rutherford. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyercanuck Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 @mojo1917 I wonder if he can draft a forward? Cause thats what Jersey needs in bunches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojo1917 Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 @mojo1917 I wonder if he can draft a forward? Cause thats what Jersey needs in bunches.you know i was thinking that as i was typing...beau bennett who can't seem to stay healthy seems to be about the only forward he's drafted since Jordan Staal. He didn't leave that organization in shambles the way some GMs do, (looking at you Robert Earle Clarke) the pens aren't in dire straights bereft of talent and the surplus of young defensive prospects is a nice position to be in for making the players around Malkin and Crosby better. Look James Neal should have worked out better but he turned douche.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyercanuck Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 @mojo1917 Neal wasn't drafted. Despres isn't a bad pick. Pouliot came with the pick he got for Staal who was a 2nd overall to begin with and certainly no Toews, who he could have had.. Really, the only good pick Shero made in his entire tenure was Olli Maata. When everyone was crediting Shero for being a brilliant gm...he was brilliant because he inherited Crosby/Malkin/Fleury and a 2nd overall pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murraycraven Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 @mojo1917 Neal wasn't drafted. Despres isn't a bad pick. Pouliot came with the pick he got for Staal who was a 2nd overall to begin with and certainly no Toews, who he could have had.. Really, the only good pick Shero made in his entire tenure was Olli Maata. When everyone was crediting Shero for being a brilliant gm...he was brilliant because he inherited Crosby/Malkin/Fleury and a 2nd overall pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojo1917 Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 @mojo1917 Neal wasn't drafted. Despres isn't a bad pick. Pouliot came with the pick he got for Staal who was a 2nd overall to begin with and certainly no Toews, who he could have had.. Really, the only good pick Shero made in his entire tenure was Olli Maata. When everyone was crediting Shero for being a brilliant gm...he was brilliant because he inherited Crosby/Malkin/Fleury and a 2nd overall pick.He identified Neal and traded Goligoski for him and got Niskanen to boot. Jordan Staal was vital to that cup team, in fact, they don't win without Staal Kennedy and Cooke.Rutherford is not a better GM. The team is able to wheel and deal today because of choices he made. Not the problem in Pgh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notfondajane Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 God I hope so. It will give me a reason to hate the Devils again. The Devils will then be like the mini Penguins without the talentI'm curious did you serve in the military? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyercanuck Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 He identified Neal and traded Goligoski for him and got Niskanen to boot. Jordan Staal was vital to that cup team, in fact, they don't win without Staal Kennedy and Cooke.Rutherford is not a better GM. The team is able to wheel and deal today because of choices he made. Not the problem in Pgh Shero made some good trades..he was decent with the cap....he just wasn't very good at drafting. Rutherford is a joke, look at Carolina. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idahophilly Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 I'm curious did you serve in the military?Seems to be an odd question... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDevil Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 The Pens were in a completely different situation than the Devils are. When Shero took over a majority of the Pens core had already been drafted, so he was much more in "win now" mode than he was in building the team. With the Devils he's got some good pieces (Schneider, Henrique, Larsson, Severson, Merrill, Gelinas) but still has a lot of building to do at forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 The Pens were in a completely different situation than the Devils are. When Shero took over a majority of the Pens core had already been drafted, so he was much more in "win now" mode than he was in building the team. With the Devils he's got some good pieces (Schneider, Henrique, Larsson, Severson, Merrill, Gelinas) but still has a lot of building to do at forward. Agreed. Which is why I said in an earlier post that his work with the Devils will likely resemble what was done as an assistant GM with the early Senators and Predators......lay a course and foundation for success down the road. Obvious difference even here being that both Ott and Nash were expansion teams he was trying to help raise and develop....Devils are more established, but need life breathed into the lineup and proper development of the young players already on board. Any comparisons between what he will need to do with the Devils and his work with the Penguins is like comparing apples to oranges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 Next year is make or break for one of my favourite ex Spits, Tom Khunhackle. Tough, gritty Euro who plays a North American game. Very nice two way player who should have a legit shot at as a 3rd or 4th line center in Training Camp next year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 I like the move, at least Shero can look around and tell that dogs like Clowe, Ryder, Tootoo, Ruutu, and Havlat cannot play anymore. And while Shero had a middling draft record, look at the Devils drafts over the past six years or so, possibly the worst in the game during that time. So under Lou lately they sign every over the hill out of gas veteran and they blow the draft. Shero will fix this, he may not be perfect, but my God, anything is an improvement over what this team has been doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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