Many fans have felt that the New Jersey Devils have been too soft for years.
They felt that the team lacked overall toughness and were too easy to play against.
Apparently Devils’ General Manager Tom Fitzgerald agreed.
After the season Fitz stated that the NJ Devils were “a little too vanilla upfront”.
Was this a sign of things to come?!?
Later on in the Offseason he stated that he wanted to “get a little heavier, a little edgier, a little more violent.”
A new mantra was born!
HEAVIER, EDGIER, MORE VIOLENT!
In this video I discuss how Fitz went about his mission, and what it means for the 2024-25 New Jersey Devils.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
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33 Comments
sign me and and we get violent 100%
Yep all things we needed… NHl is moving back to big like years ago… definitely the new trend…be nice to pick up another fwd though
Any chance for Necas? Anyone else there you think there might be a chance to pick up?
I see Brady Tkachuk was top 3 in hits.
#BringBradytoNJ
This is by far my favorite show of yours haha. You’re right and a lot of fans have been on the same page with the fact that we need more than skill and speed. I’ve never been more embarrassed watching our boys than the last two games against the dirty rags. They absolutely rag dolled us and we had no chance against them bc of that. We better come out on fire and just punish teams. We are not going to be easy to play against at all and that’s music to my ears.
One point that is missed by the "we only have Dillon" crowd is the effect he will have on his teammates/ opponents.
When we got Stevens, he hit people so hard that they were reluctant to start a war. Our opponents knew that if a war happened, we had a nuke.
Also, when every member of NJ sees Dillon, Noeson, Cotter, Colton and Kovasevic hitting at every opportunity, it becomes your team identity and you see Jesper Bratt and Thomas Tatar finishing their checks. It goes right down the line.
They will learn to close out the player and take the body as a team.
The team buying in to solid body play is why Florida lifted Lord Stanley this year.
I get PTSD anytime i see stuff like 'heavier, edgier, more violent' or insert whatever 3 key words to describe the team. Nothing against you, It reminds me of the Shero era of 'fast, attacking and supportive' or whatever slogans they used, then we ended up finishing last 😅.
I think we should all strive to be heavier, edgier, and more violent gentlemen.
Brady was #3 in terms of hits. Let's hope he is a future Devils
❓ Big Game Hunted
✅ Ran the Gauntlet
✅ Heavier
✅ Edgier
✅ More Violent
Little Hughes played 82 games. I cannot see his hits stats. Probably it was too many they lost count. And he's gonna be top 4 D-man again.
Nice breakdown Ace! Speed and finesse not getting you Lord Stanley. Fitz made the muscle moves. Gonna be sweet seeing/hearing the boards crunch at the rock this year!
Ace , I like how you’ve grown from almost hating Fitz to almost loving him . I am with you in that boat trying to see things in a positive way until proven otherwise . Nobody’s perfect . Instead of signing Palat for ridiculous money he should have kept Tatar for fraction of a price . He should have addressed goalie situation earlier and should have stopped Lindy experiment sooner but we’ve been moving in the right direction . Now we need results ! LGD !
I love it!! Cant wait to start this season!! LGD
thats what he meant when he said Big Game hunting get the big boys on the bench
I didn't know Toronto was 3rd in hits. Even our new coach is heavier, edgier and more violent.
Back to the glory days on D: pairing a banger with a puck mover.
imagine if we still have Mcleod . he was a big part of this team . so sad , Lets go devils👹 big season coming 💪🏽
The top eight teams in hits all have one thing in common. Great forechecking teams.
That is an area the Devils will improve this season.
I think the Florida panthers and how tough they were motivated fitzy
I have a feeling cotter plays w jack on the wing idk I feel it love it
Over emphasis on size & physicality. Under emphasis on actual hockey talent. The offseason in a nut shell. These aren't guys that were brought in because they are good at hockey. They we're brought in because they are tall. No star was brought in. Nobody worth getting excited about. They are all kind of average players that are up there in age. I'm expected to believe that middling players like these will transform the team from the disaster we saw into a top contender? I don't think so. I find bringing back Tatar & Noesen particularly embarrassing. Nobody was clamoring for that. They aren't good. We already had enough underwhelming forwards in the bottom 6. One is being paid 6 million bucks a year to do nothing. Might as well of just done nothing at all at forward. Massive disappointment.
The Devils aren't soft anymore.
14:05–14:15 What was that?
Ace.. Grit is what won us 3 cups I’ve been a fan since the late 80’s. I truly believe hard nose D is what wins cups !!!!🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
I think we may have (hopefully) found lightning in a bottle with Keefes unique system combining with our skill players and a heavy and violent remodel.
Bare minimum to me:
Rangers got butt hurt losing in the playoffs to us. So they spent the next season bullying us around. Physically and on the scoreboard.
This year, I want payback. We need to flip this narrative, and show we are a different team. I'm expecting this just like I was expecting Rempe to drop gloves to MacDermid. No more pond hockey, playground crap. Our fans deserve this.
I still think the Devils should sign Nick Cousins
How about the Top 6 ?
Can’t wait for Devils hockey. Jack will win MVP. 🎉
Looking forward to this seasons ‘24 /‘25 NJ Devils !! Now I feel good about seeing them at the Rock! All the best!
Hey ace, can I ask your opinion right now what your second and third line would be right now with our current roster?
The more I think back on the 23-24 season, the more I feel Fitz used it as a season to evaluate who he felt were long term pieces, and those who he was on the fence about were given a chance to prove they belonged on the team. Had 22-23 been a terrible year and Fitz spent the entire 23-24 season with the same roster watching the same thing happen, that would be reason for firing him. But the team was awesome in 22-23, individual records were set, team records were set, we came back and beat the Rangers in the first round, so to dismantle the team at that point would have made no sense. They probably overachieved, surprised the league with what they accomplished, and why wouldn’t Fitz want to run most of that team back in 23-24. Toffoli was signed to improve the team, but our goaltending took major steps back and we were plagued by injury and I think he knew it just wasn’t their year. So rather than overpay to upgrade between the pipes, they ran with what they had to decide who stayed and who went. Fast forward to this summer and the Markstrom deal got done, we said goodbye to Schmid and Holtz, got Cotter in trade and brought in the big men on the blue line like he said he would. Last season was disappointing for all of us but that’s in the past and the moves needed to improve in many areas were addressed and we are a far better team today than we were to close out last season. And WHEN NJ are a buyer at the 25 deadline, we can add another piece up front at that time in preparation for a deep playoff run. Fitz hasn’t been perfect but I’m very happy with the moves that have been made and this is as excited as I’ve been for a new season to start in a very long time. LGD!!
Are you finally into Cotter now and back on the Fitzy train? You were livid on the Vegas trade.