Just a day after their end-of-season press conference, the New Jersey Devils announced a few surprising coaching changes.
When you ask yourself, what sank the New Jersey Devils on the ice in 2024-25? Would you say: A — the offense, B — the defense, or C — the goaltending?
In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, when the Devils were bounced in five games, a fair assessment of what happened may very well focus on two things: the power play’s inability to score and the meltdown in the second period of Game Five. Whether you blame those on defensive breakdowns or goaltending may vary, but I think most would agree that even if Jacob Markstrom did let up some goals he wanted back, he ultimately kept the team in that Game Five longer than they ultimately deserved.
So, I imagine that many were surprised today when the New Jersey Devils announced that assistant coaches Ryan McGill and Chris Taylor would not have their contracts renewed by the team. Additionally, the head video coach, Jerry Dineen, and one of Utica’s assistants in David Cunniff, were let go. McGill, up until now one of the longer-tenured Devils assistants, has managed the team’s defense and penalty kill since 2022. McGill has seen the growth of some of the Devils’ finest young defensemen they have seen in decades, including Luke Hughes and Jonas Siegenthaler. The primary blemish on his record is the team’s 2023-24 season, but it had seemed the defense took a huge step back in the right direction this year. I really wish that the team made this announcement before Tom Fitzgerald and Sheldon Keefe had their end-of-year press conference yesterday. It would have actually been interesting to hear their rationale for moving on from McGill and what they are looking for in a replacement.
Chris Taylor’s role with the team over the years has been a little less obvious. He was hired back in 2020, announced alongside goaltending coach Dave Rogalski. In a Tweet about the coaching change, Amanda Stein said that Taylor worked with the forwards. The team’s forwards have certainly had their ups and downs over the years, so I think this move is relatively unsurprising, since it sounds like his contract had expired. I imagine Taylor might end up back in Buffalo, for whom he gave three solid seasons as their AHL head coach in Rochester before being hired by Lindy Ruff and the Devils. Taylor also played 90 of his 149 NHL games under Ruff’s tutelage when he was a member of the Sabres between 1999 and 2004, so Ruff may have an opportunity to reunite with him yet again. However, I was a bit surprised that McGill was let go, even though I think there needed to be a change somewhere on the bench.
Why McGill May Be Missed
The New Jersey Devils had the fifth-ranked defense in the league this year by goals against, marking the second time that McGill’s group was in the top ten in the league in the stat that matters most for them. On the penalty kill, the Devils also had the third best rate of goals allowed in the league. This is one thing that has stayed constant in McGill’s tenure: the penalty kill’s effectiveness in terms of goals allowed. However, if you look below (with data from Natural Stat Trick), you will see that the team has given up more scoring chances on the penalty kill year-over-year.
Data from Natural Stat Trick
Still, looking at where the defense has ranked over these three years, there has been a lot more good than bad with McGill. The 2022-23 coaching staff of Lindy Ruff, Andrew Brunette, and Ryan McGill seemed to be a perfect blend of strengths and weaknesses, along with a roster well-suited to their approach. Now, with Sheldon Keefe and Jeremy Colliton also behind the bench, the Devils’ coaching staff was rather defensively-biased in 2024-25. Keefe has a strong defensive reputation and preaches fundamental details, and would generally rather see his team wait for the opportunity to come to them than make a mistake by taking a risk. McGill got good results out of his guys, though, and I don’t think you can explain this move with numbers. The numbers say McGill did a good job.
Colliton’s Place on the Bench and the Void in Taylor’s Spot
After for his first season with Chicago in 2018-19 (the 7th-ranked power play with Patrick Kane’s 110 point season), Jeremy Colliton was never again associated with a very good power play when he was the head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks or the Abbotsford Canucks of the AHL. As the team’s offensive assistant this year, Colliton saw the Devils power play improve to a whopping 28.24% scoring rate in the regular season, though they did not convert in the postseason. I will give it to Colliton: the power play was very impressive in the regular season, and he made some nice adjustments in the postseason. Perhaps a fresh voice in Taylor’s role, or a “promotion” of sorts for Sergei Brylin, might push the offense in the right direction at even strength, but my impression of this team was not that McGill’s coaching was holding the team back. If anything, I think they should be looking for a guy who was actually a productive player in the NHL — a coach along the lines of Mark Recchi, Andrew Brunette, or Adam Oates — who can work on some more skillful points with the elite talent the Devils possess. If he is interested, maybe this is an opportunity to bring Patrik Elias into the mix without attaching the power play’s efficiency to his name. That would be a heck of a silver lining.
Photo by Andrew Maclean /NHLI via Getty Images
Going into this offseason, I am more worried about the team’s forwards than I am about the defense. I think my surprise at the move today is mostly that a big assistant got axed at all. Sure, a guy like Chris Taylor or the video coach from a previous regime might be let go, but I did not get the impression from the presser by Sheldon Keefe and Tom Fitzgerald that they were particularly worried about the defense. With that in mind, there are some reasons I think the move might have its positives for the team’s defenders.
A New Coach Can Help Round Out Hughes and Nemec
While Luke Hughes had the far better regular season performance this year, I am happy with the progression of both him and Simon Nemec under Ryan McGill over the past two seasons. When Hughes signed with the Devils, he did not have an outstanding defensive reputation for his play at the University of Michigan. By this season, Hughes has developed into an incredibly mobile defender with outstanding one-on-one ability and game-changing speed. Simon Nemec has also shown signs of being a great defender, being pretty effective against the rush in his rookie season, while suffering with some bad defensive zone positioning this year. Nemec turned it up a few notches in the playoffs, though, blending one-on-one shutdown ability with renewed confidence in his ability to handle the puck and attack on offense.
After rehabbing from his shoulder surgery, Luke Hughes will need to continue refining his game to reach the next level. He is not at the level of his oldest brother, Quinn, when it comes to taking the puck up in transition and creating offense from the blueline. Working on his shot would also make him much more potent on the rush. Right now, he has all the speed in the world and happens to dominate the puck often when he’s on the ice, but the offensive zone efficiency is not quite there at even strength. After working with McGill for two years, he will have someone new to work with.
What Kind of Coach Would Help the Devils the Most?
The best choice here may depend on what other hire they make. If they don’t bring a big-name former forward to the bench, I might be more inclined to want a defensive coach that will help the blueline’s offensive involvement. Otherwise, I would be fine with a coach that would only be expected to help round out the team’s details in their own end. I am sure some fans will start invoking names like Scott Stevens, but I would honestly be less surprised to see someone like Ken Daneyko end up behind the bench. Stevens hasn’t coached since 2017, and while he might be the image of toughness fans want the team’s defense to embody, eight years is quite a bit of time. Someone who has been closer to the game will find themselves in McGill’s shoes. You could probably list tons of former Devils or somewhat-recently retired defensemen who might get some form of consideration. For what it’s worth, Sheldon Keefe has only significantly coached a couple now-retired defensemen (Mark Giordano and Jake Muzzin, who is still on LTIR for Toronto), so it is not particularly likely that he brings that sort of relationship into play. Both mentioned former players would be fantastic models for future generations if they became coaches, though.
Sheldon Keefe could always look to former assistants, but things seem to be going well in Toronto. I am not sure if Craig Berube will want to let Mike Van Ryn go to join Keefe again. I am not sure if Van Ryn would even be interested. I am not sure if the Devils should be interested in a former first-round draft pick of theirs who refused to sign with them. Further back, Dave Hakstol worked as an assistant for Keefe for a couple years, but his results were mixed and he found himself the victim of a mutiny in Seattle last year. It might be necessary for the team to set their sights elsewhere.
Ultimately, I would like to see one of two things happen: the Devils hire an accomplished former forward to help Colliton get more out of the offense while hiring someone who will focus on making the defense intimidating and imposing, or I would like to see the team promote Sergei Brylin to Taylor’s role and hire someone who will maximize the offensive potential of the blueline to replace McGill. I think there needs to be a balance of what everyone brings to the table. Since one of the defense’s consistent weaknesses over the past few years has been the breakout passing, I think the latter scenario has its advantages, too.
The news today was definitely surprising, and the players will have to adjust next year. But with a new coach, they can become more complete players as they try to help the Devils compete for a Stanley Cup. And, importantly, Sheldon Keefe is getting more of a chance to make his mark on the team by driving the decisions of how to approach replacing McGill and Taylor.
Your Thoughts
What did you think of the news today? Were you surprised? What kind of coach would you like to see replace McGill? Are there any specific coaches you can think of that would be a good fit? Leave your thoughts below, and thanks for reading.