AmericanDream
Thank you Elon!
We would just like to start off by thanking the Commissioner for the opportunity that our group has been awarded with taking over this proud franchise. Also, thank you to the Board of Govenors/Executive Committee for their belief in our vision in taking over this franchise.
I want to promise our fans one thing right out of the gate, we want to get back to our glory days as quickly as possible! There are many different ways that this can be done, and over the next 6-12 months we will work on bringing that vision to a reality through smart business decisions that will help this organization win now and for the future. Maintaining that balance will be the tricky part, but we are firm in our belief that we have the right people in place for this to happen.
Our core executive team has decades of experience in running organizations, player acquisitions, and drafting of personnel. We also believe it starts from the bench out as having the right coach in place to lead our troops into battle as well as believing in our vision are absolute keys to a franchises success. We are happy to announce that Jon Cooper and his team will be staying on to continue their tremendous efforts with bringing this franchise back to its glory days.
Jon Cooper is a coach that everyone at the table (Executive team) felt hands down was THE right man to be at the helm of this journey. Jon has done a tremendous job with this group this year, helping to lead us back into the playoff picture. Also, Jon has a tremendous resume of working with younger players, getting the best out of them, and being able to blend youth and veterans into a common goal - WINNING!
We have a number of key younger players that we fully expect will be taking that next step and contributing to our NHL team right out of the gate. Ryan Pulock, Timo Meier, Daniel Sprong, Nathan Walker, etc are just some of the youth that we expect to have big roles next year. Jon is the perfect coach to bring that core of our youth into our current mix of players and getting the best results out of them all.
Also, our belief as a management team is that we have to build from within. This organization over the years has traded away key draft picks, top young prospects, etc which has lead to a farm system that is thin and a prospect pool in the bottom half of the league. We have to do better in identifying which young assets to keep and which ones to move. This does not mean that we are not willing to move young players or our draft picks, on the contrary, I think we will be very aggressive in doing so, we just need to make sure the returns that we are getting for those assets are going to help now and in the future.
The New Jersey Devils have two first round picks this year as well as two second round picks. We are notifying all fellow GMs that those picks are not under lock and key, and could be used to move up, back, or out completely if the right offer(s) come in.
We also would like to notify all fellow GMs that we will be trying to negotiate with some of our UFA and RFA contracts, but we will be entertaining offers for the rights to P.K. Subban as we feel we have to look at what options we can bring in for him.
As you all are aware, we are not a small market team, but not a big market team, we have to maintain that fine line of balancing our cap with our revenue. P.K is an expensive luxury to have right now, and if we feel we might not be ready to win it all this year or next, we have to think bigger picture and see what he can bring back in return that could help with our overall depth and some cap relief. Please send in any offers here through our PM for any possible deals involving Mr. Subban as well as any other player of interest.
To wrap up this press conference and start getting to work, it is a pleasure to be in this league, one we do not take lightly. We have visions and goals of taking this team to the top, nothing less. Looking at our core team, you can see a number of highly skilled players, and a team that should be in playoff contention for the next many years to come. BUT, we have to continue to build from within, we have to hit our drafts out of the park, and we have to get better depth overall in our organization. The New Jersey Devils today have taken the first steps to becoming a NHL Champion again, you the league have been warned!
Sincerely,
Devils President of Hockey Operations/General Manager
I want to promise our fans one thing right out of the gate, we want to get back to our glory days as quickly as possible! There are many different ways that this can be done, and over the next 6-12 months we will work on bringing that vision to a reality through smart business decisions that will help this organization win now and for the future. Maintaining that balance will be the tricky part, but we are firm in our belief that we have the right people in place for this to happen.
Our core executive team has decades of experience in running organizations, player acquisitions, and drafting of personnel. We also believe it starts from the bench out as having the right coach in place to lead our troops into battle as well as believing in our vision are absolute keys to a franchises success. We are happy to announce that Jon Cooper and his team will be staying on to continue their tremendous efforts with bringing this franchise back to its glory days.
Jon Cooper is a coach that everyone at the table (Executive team) felt hands down was THE right man to be at the helm of this journey. Jon has done a tremendous job with this group this year, helping to lead us back into the playoff picture. Also, Jon has a tremendous resume of working with younger players, getting the best out of them, and being able to blend youth and veterans into a common goal - WINNING!
We have a number of key younger players that we fully expect will be taking that next step and contributing to our NHL team right out of the gate. Ryan Pulock, Timo Meier, Daniel Sprong, Nathan Walker, etc are just some of the youth that we expect to have big roles next year. Jon is the perfect coach to bring that core of our youth into our current mix of players and getting the best results out of them all.
Also, our belief as a management team is that we have to build from within. This organization over the years has traded away key draft picks, top young prospects, etc which has lead to a farm system that is thin and a prospect pool in the bottom half of the league. We have to do better in identifying which young assets to keep and which ones to move. This does not mean that we are not willing to move young players or our draft picks, on the contrary, I think we will be very aggressive in doing so, we just need to make sure the returns that we are getting for those assets are going to help now and in the future.
The New Jersey Devils have two first round picks this year as well as two second round picks. We are notifying all fellow GMs that those picks are not under lock and key, and could be used to move up, back, or out completely if the right offer(s) come in.
We also would like to notify all fellow GMs that we will be trying to negotiate with some of our UFA and RFA contracts, but we will be entertaining offers for the rights to P.K. Subban as we feel we have to look at what options we can bring in for him.
As you all are aware, we are not a small market team, but not a big market team, we have to maintain that fine line of balancing our cap with our revenue. P.K is an expensive luxury to have right now, and if we feel we might not be ready to win it all this year or next, we have to think bigger picture and see what he can bring back in return that could help with our overall depth and some cap relief. Please send in any offers here through our PM for any possible deals involving Mr. Subban as well as any other player of interest.
To wrap up this press conference and start getting to work, it is a pleasure to be in this league, one we do not take lightly. We have visions and goals of taking this team to the top, nothing less. Looking at our core team, you can see a number of highly skilled players, and a team that should be in playoff contention for the next many years to come. BUT, we have to continue to build from within, we have to hit our drafts out of the park, and we have to get better depth overall in our organization. The New Jersey Devils today have taken the first steps to becoming a NHL Champion again, you the league have been warned!
Sincerely,
Devils President of Hockey Operations/General Manager
