Four takeaways from Tom Fitzgerald's pre-draft availability
New Jersey's GM spoke to the media for the first time in months and had plenty of note to say.
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New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald held his pre-draft availability Wednesday evening and had plenty of noteworthy things to say.
Let’s dive right in.
Jesper Bratt isn’t going anywhere
Despite Jesper Bratt being a constant on Frank Seravalli’s trade bait board – and his name being tossed around like a frisbee by NHL media members and fans – the reality is he’s not available; and never has been.
Fitzgerald doubled down on Bratt, saying he thinks the world of the player, he wants Bratt to be a long-term member of the Devils, and continues to work on making him one.
That should definitely take wind out of the sails of Bratt rumors that have always felt a little irresponsible.
New Jersey is a rising team slowly making their way out of a far too lengthy rebuild. They want to be good sooner than later and, when that happens, they want their winning ways to be sustainable.
Trading a 23-year-old winger who drives play and just flirted with a point per game – despite no functioning power play to aid his totals – seems counterintuitive to being good in the short and long-term; especially when many ‘rumors’ have him fetching a 29-year-old in need of a massive extension.
If you’re not going to keep an emerging star who has yet to hit his peak, who are you going to keep?
As I said just a few days ago, contract talks might not be breezy and there may be some noise along the way; but I expect a long-term agreement in the ballpark of $7 million per season.
Ruff returns
This is news that isn’t necessarily news. It is the first time Fitzgerald 100% confirmed Ruff would be back behind the bench but actions speak louder than words and Fitz’ actions already told us Ruff would be back.
Nobody – and I mean nobody – mentioned the Devils were even considering a new head coach, let alone suggested they were seriously in the running for one. That says a lot considering there were an abundance of marquee coaches made available this summer.
Whether things work out or not, I can understand why Fitzgerald stuck with his guy. There are some positives about retaining Ruff.
Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt and essentially all of the team’s top forwards flourished under Ruff. Part of it is natural development, of course, but Ruff’s system seems to feed into their skillsets and these guys made it no secret they enjoyed playing for Lindy.
The team also posted a very strong profile at 5v5. With anything resembling NHL goaltending over the course of the season – and/or a half decent power play – the story could’ve been much different.
There’s also the benefit of familiarity. Ruff knows who is good, who isn’t, who works well with who, and how to push certain player’s buttons. All of the guys know what to expect as well. They can hit the ground running instead of going through the usual hiccups you see when adjusting to completely new systems.
Control, control, control
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