Clinched | BIG READ

"Phase one was, our goal was to get in the playoffs. Proud of all the work you guys put in to this point. Hell of an accomplishment. We achieved where we wanted to get. That's step one.

"Great accomplishment just getting in the playoffs. There's going to be 16 teams that don't do it. We're in there so awesome job. Awesome job. Well done."

That was the message Devils head coach Lindy Ruff delivered to his team in the locker room Saturday night following the club's 5-3 victory against Ottawa at Prudential Center.

On this night, March 25, the Devils punched their ticket to the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, becoming just the third team in the league to clinch a spot in postseason play. It's also the first playoff appearance for the franchise since 2018, ending a four-year drought.

"It feels great. The work you put in during the summer and the work you put in during the whole year to get rewarded," captain Nico Hischier said with a smile. "It's an empty feeling after an 82-game season when you're not in the playoffs. It's finally coming together so it feels good."

What came together was a lot of work from many people in the Devils organization, from players to the coaching staff to training staff to equipment staff to medical staff to hockey operations to ownership.

"It sits a little better with you when you know the work you've put in over the years as an organization and all the motivation that's driving you every year," forward Jesper Bratt said. "For so many years we had our exit meetings in April, and you go home and watch (the playoffs) on TV and dream of being in that position.

"This feels really good. It's been a lot of years with struggle and not winning. It's just awesome coming out and playing these kinds of games and getting an x after your team name."

The x was never a given. New Jersey finished in the bottom-6 of the standings in each of the past four seasons. The club even began the 2022-23 campaign 0-2 and 3-3 before exploding for a 13-game winning streak and an 18-1-1 run.

The Devils still had to fight through a couple of dips in December (1-7-1) and even more recently (1-3-2). But the Devils have no quit in them. They've fought through every time and came out ahead on the other side. That same theme was true against the Senators.

The Devils entered Saturday night knowing that they could earn their playoff spot with a win against Ottawa. Although the Devils technically clinched a playoff spot in the middle of the game due to Florida's loss to the NY Rangers, many on the team were unaware of that fact. Instead, they were determined to win their own game and earn their own path.

New Jersey fell behind to Ottawa, but rebounded to record its NHL-leading 24^th comeback victory of the season. Once again the team had to fight through adversity and overcome. A fitting way to seal your playoff spot.

"It means everything to the group," Ruff said of earning their postseason berth. "I'm proud of the work that was put in, I'm proud of where we got to. To clinch tonight, to be one of three teams that have an x next to their name. All the work that's been put in. The adversity they faced during the year. The adversity they faced right at the start of the season to where we've got to now."

The Devils' etched their 46^th win and 100^th point of the season against the Senators and still have nine games to be played. For perspective, in the last two years combined New Jersey won 46 games and earned 108 points.

That shows how far this team has come and grown over the past few years.

"For me it's seeing the growth of the team, seeing the growth of the players," Ruff said reflecting on how far the organization had come. "When I took the job (in 2020) and we talked about all the different young players. I was trying to find a role, trying to find a way to grow them. Live with some mistakes that a coach like myself normally wouldn't live with, knowing that to get to a certain point you can make mistakes but don't keep repeating them. And you just have to keep getting better.

"That has led us to today and one heck of an opportunity with 15 other teams to try to do something special. If you don't have a ticket to get in, you don't get the opportunity. We got a ticket to get in."

Ticket in hand, the Devils have emerged from the darkness to a brighter landscape. Hischier was a member of that 2018 playoff team, and despite the rough years that followed, he knew the team was moving in the right direction.

"It's been a while and it's been a couple rough years," Hischier said. "But we believed in each other, and we stuck together here. It just shows we were on the right track."

Clinching was a culmination of that track. But the roadmap to get here was set in place a few years prior.

Strategic Vision

The Devils leadership team and managing partners began a search for a general manager in the summer of 2020. One of the top names on the list was Tom Fitzgerald, who had finished the previous year as interim general manager, taking over for Ray Shero on Jan. 12.

Fitzgerald came to the interview ready with a vision and a plan. In that plan, he laid out the roadmap to returning the Devils to being a consistent contender for the Stanley Cup. All he needed from them was support and patience.

"Patience is the key," Fitzgerald said. "When you have the backing of your ownership group who believed in the strategic plan (that) I presented to them to hold onto this job, and where my vision was."

Fitzgerald preached building the team the right way, without cutting corners. That meant building for long-term success and not a short-term jolt. That meant the core foundation of the team would be constructed through the draft and then developed with accessory pieces added along the way.

"You build your team through the draft, you build your team through player development," Fitzgerald said. "You start with the pillars - the Jacks and Nicos and the Jespers and you build around them."

Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes were both selected with the first-overall pick in their respective classes, 2017 and '19 respectively. Jesper Bratt was a steal in the sixth round (162^nd overall) in 2016, and emerged as a key piece of the team's future.

Fitzgerald fought the urge to spend lavishly on aging free agents and stick with the plan. As he finished the 2019-20 season as interim GM, he had his eyes on the future.

Prior to the NHL's trade deadline, he moved forward Blake Coleman to Tampa Bay for prospect Nolan Foote (a former first-round pick in 2019) and a 2020 first-round pick (Shakir Mukhamadullin -> Timo Meier) and veteran defenseman Andy Greene to the New York Islanders for a second-round pick (traded for Ryan Graves) and David Quenneville.

Fitzgerald also moved Sami Vatanen, Wayne Simmonds and Louis Domingue.

The trades were done with a purpose.

"I've been asked to help push this organization forward," Fitzgerald said the day of the trades. "And at this time where you have to make some tough decisions, but at the end of the day it's about looking ahead."

The leadership group and managing partners were also looking ahead. And following the summer GM search, they were looking ahead with Fitzgerald as the general manager, providing him support and patience.

Under The Hood

Patience was key in the 2020-21 season. The Devils decided to strip the club down to the bone and let the young players take the lead. Fitzgerald referred to it as "peeking under the hood of the car to see what we've got." But in order to do that, the Devils needed the right man to teach the young players.

The Devils hired head coach Lindy Ruff to take over the command. And for Fitzgerald, Ruff was the right fit in many respects.

"As the process continued to move forward, Lindy just continued to step to the forefront," Fitzgerald said on the day of the hiring, July 9, 2020. "One, I was looking for NHL head coaching experience. Two, a presence, someone who's been there, done that, and could walk into a room and actually grab the attention of our young team with the experience that they've gained over a number of years as head coach. Personality, the group needs a teacher, someone who's going to come in and teach, and messages are going to be extremely clear, no break at all in messaging. Believable, which goes with presence."

The Devils gave the keys to the car to their youth. Nothing signified that more than when the team named Nico Hischier, shortly after his 22^nd birthday, as the 12^th captain in club history. It would be Hischier and the youths - Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, Yegor Sharangovich, Jesper Boqvist, Michael McLeod, Nathan Bastian and Mackenzie Blackwood - that would create the nucleus and identity for this team.

At the trade deadline, once again moves were made for the future. Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri were traded to the New York Islanders for a first-round pick (Chase Stillman) and prospects. The youth movement was in full swing.

Fitzgerald called the approach "throwing them into the water and seeing if they can swim." There were a lot of growing pains, but also a lot of growing.

New Jersey finished the season with a 19-30-7 record in arguably the strongest division in the NHL, stacked with Cup contenders. While, that year was certainly a valley, the team would start its upward trajectory toward a peak. In fact, it would come just a few months after the season during the summer.

"When I rolled out my roadmap to where we want to go, I talked about the learning to win phase," Fitzgerald said at the conclusion of the season. "Last year was a great step for our young players, playing in a division that was hard. This division was extremely hard. You're playing tough teams every single night. There were no nights of. I just thought the battles we were going to be in every night would help move this thing forward, understand what it takes to get to the playoffs."

Big Defensive Energy

The Devils were armed with cap space in the summer of 2021. And they weaponized it to improve the size and scope of their defense. It began when New Jersey traded a second-round pick (from NY Islanders in Greene trade) and a forward prospect to Colorado for Ryan Graves.

With the NHL Expansion Draft looming and Seattle entering the league, the Avalanche couldn't protect the 26-year-old blueliner. Instead of losing him in the draft for nothing, Colorado wanted to move him, and the Devils took advantage of the opportunity to add a 6-foot-5, 220-pound blueliner.

But the biggest splash came when the Devils landed the biggest fish on the NHL free agent market. 

Defenseman Dougie Hamilton was a 28-year-old defenseman that excelled offensively during his nine-year NHL career in Boston, Calgary and Carolina. He was gifted with offensive skills and incredible size at 6-foot-6, 230 pounds. Plus, he was a coveted right-handed shot blueliner. In other words, he checked a lot of boxes.

Fitzgerald, with the backing of Josh Harris and David Blitzer, went after Hamilton. And he would not be denied. The Devils signed the star defenseman to a seven-year, $63-million-dollar deal. It was a deal to push the Devils forward.

"Drafting, developing and now utilizing that cap space to weaponize our team and improve it, not only today but in the long run," Fitzgerald said following the Hamilton signing. "Timing is everything. These guys (of Hamilton's caliber) don't come along (often). I pushed our ownership on why this makes sense now.

"It's not about this year (2021-22)," Fitzgerald continued about Hamilton's impact. "It's about when everybody hits their stride and how he can bring us to that next level and push everybody into that right direction. … A player that we felt not only would impact our team now, but when we're at the level that we want to be, once we hit that, we call it, the Championship run."

The Devils would also sign goaltender Jonathan Bernier and forward Tomas Tatar to round out the free agency season. Adding a few more key veterans to the Devils' young group.

"I always believed that you have to surround these guys with experience," Fitzgerald said. "Seeing some of our young kids grow like last year and how do we push them further to, I don't want to say accelerate the process, but help push them into the next phase of their careers and ours as a team."

Painful Process

The next phase came for the Devils in 2021-22, but it didn't come the way the club had hoped. And most of the issue was because of the goaltending situation.

The Devils played three different goaltenders in their first four games of the season, and none of those three were expected starter Mackenzie Blackwood (Jonathan Bernier, Scott Wedgewood, Nico Daws). When it was all said and done, New Jersey iced a team-record seven different goalies on the year after adding Akira Schmid, Jon Gillies and Andrew Hammond to the mix. Free-agent signee Bernier was limited to just 10 games played due to a hip injury.

It was not a recipe for success. The Devils finished the season with a 27-46-9 record for 63 points, while being forced to ride Daws, a 21-year-old rookie who handled himself with aplomb during 25 games of action.

Record aside, the team took many strides as individuals. Jesper Bratt set career highs across the board with 26 goals, 47 assists and 73 points. As did Nico Hischier with 21 goals, 39 assists and 60 points. As did Jack Hughes with 26 goals, 30 assists and 56 points (in 49 games). As did Yegor Sharangovich with 24 goals, 22 assists and 46 points. As did Damon Severson with 11 goals, 35 assists and 46 points.

Noticing a pattern?

Those players push their individual games forward offensively. Meanwhile, a 20-year-old rookie named Dawson Mercer (selected with a first-round pick from Arizona in the Taylor Hall trade) cracked the lineup in training camp and was the only Devil to play in all 82 games on the year while posting 42 points (17g-25a).

Progress was made, though frustratingly the record may have not shown it.

"I think last year, too, if you take away some of the numbers, goals against and things like that, the data told us that we were going in the right direction and we were ready to pop, which is this year (2022-23)," Fitzgerald said.

But in order to pop in the 2022-23 season, Fitzgerald needed to tweak his team. And he did just that with another remarkable summer.

Off-Season Additions

The Devils entered the off-season as big-time buyers for the first time since their rebuild. No longer were they trading NHL players away for prospects and draft picks. It was time to flip some futures to help the current team take a step forward.

After back-to-back seasons of failing to get a 1a-1b combo in goal (Corey Crawford retired in 2020 and Bernier suffered a hip injury that limited him to 10 games), Fitzgerald traded a third-round pick (and swapped second-round picks which netted the Devils defensive prospect Seamus Casey) to Washington for Vitek Vanecek, who recorded back-to-back 20-win seasons for the Capitals.

A few days later, Fitzgerald worked to solidify his blue line by acquiring John Marino from Pittsburgh for Ty Smith and a third-round pick. He also traded Pavel Zacha to Boston in exchange for Erik Haula and signed blueliner Brendan Smith.

Lastly, armed with some cap space the Devils wanted to add something to their lineup that they desperately needed: a veteran leader, a winner, a champion. Enter: Ondrej Palat. The Devils signed the former Tampa Bay Lightning to a five-year, $30-million deal.

The 31-year-old won two Stanley Cup titles and played in four Stanley Cup Finals with Tampa Bay. He knows what it takes to win. He's a battler and warrior in the playoffs with his physical play and tenaciousness.

In other words, Palat is the perfect player to teach the young Devils how they have to elevate their game for the postseason and lead by his own example.

"We're a young group," Fitzgerald said. "Adding the right pieces around that young group, those pillars - you talk about Jack and Nico and Bratt - adding the Palats and Dougie Hamiltons and the Smiths and the Haulas. You sure up the goal with V (Vanecek). You want to surround them with the right pieces. We're talented but I want the right talent. I want hard talent and we've got a pretty good mix here."

Unexpected Records

The Devils expected to be a competitive team in 2022-23. They expected to be in the mix of a Wild Card race, fighting for a playoff spot.

What they didn't expect was to tie a franchise record with 13 straight wins and be within striking distance of winning the Metro Division in late March.

"You saw this was the year. I always felt those guys would pop at this point," Fitzgerald said. "I didn't think we'd be in this spot. I thought let's scratch and claw for that Wild Card and then we're ready to run."

The story of development was evident again. With nine games still remaining in the season several players on the team have already set new career highs offensively. Hughes set career highs across the board with 40 goals, 46 assists and 86 points. Hischier set career highs across the board with 30 goals, 40 assists and 70 points. Bratt scored a career-high 31 goals.

Even the veteran 29-year-old defenseman Hamilton has set career highs across the board with 19 goals, 49 assists and 68 points. His 19 goals are the most ever in a single season by a defenseman in Devils history.

In his second NHL season, the 21-year-old Mercer posted his first 20-goal season (23) and 50-point season (51). Mercer also posted an eight-game goal-scoring streak (10 total) and a 12-game point streak for 20 points (11g-9a).

Another big reason for the Devils uptick has been the play in goal. What had been the team's biggest Achilles' heel in the prior season, was now one of its biggest strengths.

The Devils finally found their 1a-1b situation with Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek. But various injuries to Blackwood have forced Vanecek to shoulder most of the load. And he's handled the duties with epic success. He's already won a career-high 29 games, on the cusp of his first 30-win campaign.

Vanecek, 27, was crucial during the team's early season success. He was named the NHL's Second Star for the month of November after going 8-1 with a 2.13 goals-against average and .930 save percentage - allowing two or fewer goals in seven of his 10 appearances.

Vanecek won 10 straight games from Dec. 30 to Feb. 6 and nine straight from Oct. 25 to Nov. 21. He's also posted stretches of going 15-1-1 and 12-1-1.

And the Devils only got stronger ahead of the trade deadline with the acquisition of forward Timo Meier from San Jose. Once again, the Devils were buyers, trading prospects (Nikita Okhotiuk, Fabian Zetterlund, Shakir Mukhamadullin) and draft picks (a conditional 2023 first, a 2024 second and seventh).

Meier is a player that the Devils coveted. He's already tied a career-high with 35 goals and gives the Devils four 30-goal scorers. He's a strong, physical power forward that makes a dangerous team all the more dangerous.

In two short years the Devils went from trading their own veteran players away for prospects and draft picks to the team shipping future assets to win now. The Devils are getting set for their next step as a franchise.

Fitzgerald and his staff deserve a lot of credit for building this team and making the final tweaks, but they're also standing on the shoulders of his predecessor Ray Shero, who helped build much of the foundation in the way of Hischier, Hughes, Bratt, Nathan Bastian, Jesper Boqvist, Michael McLeod, Yegor Sharangovich, Miles Wood and Blackwood. It was the combined efforts of a lot of people that has brought the Devils back into the postseason.

With a young nucleus in New Jersey and more in the pipe line (the Devils still have three blue chip first-round prospects in Alexander Holtz, Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec), the team is setup for an exciting future as well as the present.  

The rebuild is officially over and the Devils have arrived as a competitive team. Just as Fitzgerald had laid out in his strategy to the team's managing partners a few short seasons ago.

"I think everything we've done here as a team," Fitzgerald said, "talking about my hockey ops team, has been very thought out to a point where it's been analyzed and dissected for us to make proper decisions. I think we've done that so far. Of course, you're going to take chances on people that may or may not work out. When we laid down that strategy years ago, it's starting to come together."

And, of course, it took a buy-in from the managing partners in both support and financial backing.

"We're committed to it, and we've shown that," Fitzgerald said. "We have great ownership, David Blitzer and Josh Harris have encouraged us to do things because this phase and where we wanted to get to, and here we are."

While clinching a playoff spot is a major feat for the Devils, it is only one marker on the roadmap that ends with a Stanley Cup championship. The Devils still have a way to go to reach the mountaintop, but they are far from the valley from which they came.

"I'm really proud of this group. We've accomplished a lot, but really nothing," Fitzgerald said. "This is called development and we're growing. The thing that excites me the most, and I think our fanbase should be excited, I know our players are excited, is the window.

"Our window is just starting to open up. And we feel our window can be open for a long, long time. It's exciting that this is the start of the window opening up."