On Sunday, the New Jersey Devils announced and it was confirmed by owner Josh Harris that Ray Shero was no longer the general manager of the organization. Shero has been fired after a four-plus year tenure that saw the three-time Stanley Cup champions make the playoffs only once.
Harris confirmed the change in direction just 90 minutes before the Devils faced the Tampa Bay Lightning and also confirmed the move was effective immediately.
New Jersey Devils play-by-play voice Steve Cangialosi firs broke the news and while the Devils have struggled, it comes as a bit of a surprise considering the moves that were likely about to happen with the club as it approached the February 24th Trade Deadline. Perhaps concerned he was not the right man to steer whatever new direction the club chooses to go as sellers, someone else will run the day-to-day for the franchise.
But, before he was let go, Shero did make one move, sending forward Taylor Hall to the Arizona Coyotes after his off-season moves this past summer failed to improve the clubs win/loss record. It was these moves that likely resulted in Shero being removed.
The Statement from the Devils
The Devils called a quick news conference outside the locker room, and Harris said assistant general manager Tom Fitzgerald would handle Shero’s duties with the help of former Devils goalie Martin Brodeur. Harris said there’s never a good time to make this kind of decision but that once you do, you have to act quickly.
Harris said. “We thought this was the right thing to do for the franchise.” He added, “But the reality is we are now in our fifth season and we’ve made the playoffs once. It was just time for a change.”
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