Sometimes, getting slapped around is the only way for a team to learn a lesson. After one of the team's best performances in the last several seasons Wednesday against the Los Angeles Kings, there was nothing glamorous about the New Jersey Devil's escapade onto the ice Friday night. The Anaheim Ducks thoroughly dominated 99% of the game and blasted New Jersey 5-1.
From the drop of the puck it was blatantly obvious the Ducks were faster, tougher, more skilled and just flat out better.
If 1/3 Head Coach (remember the Devils now have a three-headed coaching approach) Lou Lamoriello was doing his job, he should have been taking notes on how the Ducks were built from top to bottom and comparing it to that of his own team.
The Ducks are, and have been, a high-powered machine whose blue prints were laid by Brian Burke and have been assembled and maintained by current GM Bob Murray since 2008.
Freeze the team stats right now, Jan. 17, and take a look at the top 10 point-getters for the Ducks. Out of those 10, seven are Ducks draft picks, all 10 are below the age of 31 and four of them are defensemen. Only six players on their roster against the Devils were over 30, seven if you want to include Ilya Bryzgalov in net.
On the flip side, take a look at the top 10 in points for New Jersey. Five are Devils draft picks, one is a defenseman, and six are over the age of 30. On their roster against the Ducks, the Devils had 11 players who were at least 30.
Years of stop-gap moves and roster-patching with old overpaid players along with an ultimate failure at the draft have reared its ugly head for New Jersey.
In the team's defense, how many squads would easily recover from losing Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk, who combined for 152 points in their last season together. Eventually you have to turn the page. It has been three years since Parise left and two since Kovalchuk and the team has been operated as if both had just left. Some teams would have this problem solved with solid drafting, but not New Jersey.
The team needs to start with a clean slate. There are a decent amount of tradeable assets the Devils have that can help start a rebuild. Lamoriello just needs to leave his ego at the door and face the facts that a rebuild is the only legitimate option for this team at this juncture.
At what point does something happen? At rock bottom? What is rock bottom for the Devils?
Some people would consider registering one shot in a period for the third time this season rock bottom. Maybe throwing a very pedestrian 15 shots on net, which is almost becoming a regular thing, is rock bottom. Maybe only having two three-game winning streaks since February of 2013 is rock bottom, or maybe rock bottom hasn't shown up yet for this team.
If it hasn't Lamoriello shouldn't sit idly by and wait for it to come, he needs to take action now. His job depends on it.