To be quite honest, I don't think the timing of this actually matters. It's possible, if not very likely, that this extension has long been a foregone conclusion that made the most sense to be signed and/or announced come the end of what was a rough season for all parties involved. After all, despite being about as active as a stoner with early on-set senioritis last summer, Ray Shero's tenure as General Manager of the New Jersey Devils has largely been a successful one. That might be tough to see in the ugly results of his 4th season as such, but it's certainly not hard to see in the AHL/AARP roster of the team he originally took over. There's still a lot of work to be done, but the trades he has lost have been few and far between, as well as nowhere near as impactful as the countless trades he's overwhelmingly won. His leash almost certainly grew a bit tighter since September, but I hardly think that cutting ties anytime soon was something that was ever truly discussed. That being said, you don't become a billionaire by blindly investing in things you're given no reason to believe in, so it stands to reason that Josh Harris and David Blitzer had some assurances made that the next few months will be profitable ones before starting them off by prolonging their financial commitment to the builder of their team. Whether that speaks to Ray Shero's confidence in keeping his Hart in the right place by locking up Taylor Hall or his general willingness to collect on a plethora of assets/take some financial risks, we shall soon see. Regardless, I couldn't be more certain that this offseason, unlike last, won't leave me in need of a cold shower...until the person spearheading it pretty bluntly spoke of his lack of satisfaction lately.
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