How Ray Shero Redefined the Devils' Future
Ray Shero had a lasting impact on the New Jersey Devils. If they win a Stanley Cup with this core of players, he'll have had his hand in it.
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On Wednesday, we got some sad news when the Minnesota Wild announced that former New Jersey Devils general manager Ray Shero had passed away at the age of 62 after a brief illness.
The Devils moved on from Shero in January 2020, but he's had a lasting impact on this team’s roster. If they win a championship, he'll deserve to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup as much as anyone else.
Three Cornerstone Players
The Devils hired Shero to take over for Lou Lamoriello in 2015. At the time, it was clear the team needed a rebuild, so Shero got to work. His first two first-round draft picks — Pavel Zacha and Michael McLeod — did not pan out as intended, but Shero drafted a game-changer in 2017.
With the help of some draft lottery luck, the Devils won the first-overall selection and used it to draft Nico Hischier. For those who don't remember, selecting Hischier first overall was not as cut and dry as it seems today.
There was plenty of debate about whether Hischier or Nolan Patrick would go first overall. Shero made the right choice by selecting Hischier, as he's become one of the best two-way forwards in the NHL. He has 35 goals this season and may be on his way to a second Selke nomination.
Imagine if Shero had selected Patrick, who's now retired after injuries cut his career short. The Devils would likely be closer to the Buffalo Sabres than having made the playoffs in two of the last three years if they went with Patrick over Hischier.
Hischier made the Devils' roster right away and was instrumental in helping the team break their playoff drought in 2017-18. But he wasn't the only Shero draft pick who made an impact that season.
A little-known Swedish winger named Jesper Bratt, who Shero selected in the sixth round of the 2016 draft, also made the Devils' roster out of camp in 2017. He finished his rookie season with 13 goals and 35 points, but the best was yet to come.
Bratt is having a career season in 2024-25, with 21 goals and 88 points in 78 games. He's been a 70-plus-point player for four consecutive seasons and has been above a point per game in each of the last two. He has one of the best contracts in the NHL, with his AAV being just $7.875 million.
You need a bit of luck when drafting a cornerstone player like Bratt in the sixth round. But the Devils saw something in him that other teams didn't, and Shero deserves credit for that.
Lastly, there was the 2019 draft, where the Devils again got some draft lottery luck en route to the first-overall pick to select Jack Hughes. There was some debate about whether Hughes or Kaapo Kakko would go first overall at the time, but there was never any doubt about it for the Devils.
Shero was always going to select Hughes with that pick, especially with his ties to USA Hockey. Hughes needs to stay healthy, but there's no doubt about his quality when he's on the ice. He's a top-five center in the NHL and one of three cornerstones the Devils have, thanks to Shero.
Shero's Impact Goes Beyond Hughes, Hischier & Bratt
Hughes, Hischier and Bratt are not the only players that Shero drafted or acquired to have an impact on the Devils. Do you remember Akira Schmid? He was a fifth-round pick in 2018, and the Devils wouldn't have defeated the New York Rangers in the 2023 playoffs without his heroics in net.
The Devils have had many great players in their history, but their lone Hart Trophy winner — Taylor Hall — was acquired by Shero from the Edmonton Oilers in the infamous one-for-one trade involving Adam Larsson.
Hall was a beast in 2017-18, finishing with 39 goals and 94 points in 76 games en route to the Hart Trophy. The Devils would not have come remotely close to a playoff berth without his efforts, and it remains one of the best seasons we've seen from a Devils forward.
Though Hall's tenure with the Devils ended in December 2019, Shero did well in the trade with the Arizona Coyotes. The Devils acquired Kevin Bahl and two draft picks that would turn into Dawson Mercer and Jonas Siegenthaler.
Tom Fitzgerald drafted Mercer and acquired Siegenthaler, but the assets came from the Hall trade that Shero completed. Fitzgerald also used Bahl to acquire Jacob Markström from the Calgary Flames last offseason. They may not be Shero's players, but he played a part in them ending up on the Devils.
Other notable Shero picks include Yegor Sharangovich, who the Devils traded for Tyler Toffoli. The Devils ended up dealing Toffoli to the Winnipeg Jets, but Sharangovich was another Shero draft pick that positively impacted the Devils.
Meanwhile, Fabian Zetterlund — a 2017 third-round pick — was used in the trade that brought Timo Meier to the Devils at the 2023 trade deadline. Shero certainly drafted better than Fitzgerald, and those strong picks have helped mold the Devils' roster today.
Gritsyuk May Be Shero's Final Gift to the Devils
Shero's final draft class with the Devils was in 2019. Hughes is obviously the crown jewel of that class, but there may be one more gift left from Shero.
While it doesn't look like he'll sign to play for the Devils this season, Arseni Gritsyuk appears NHL-bound for the 2025-26 campaign. Gritsyuk was a fifth-round pick in the 2019 draft and has developed into one of the Devils' top prospects over the last five to six years.
The Russian winger finished this KHL season with 44 points in 49 games, which translates to 59 points over 82 NHL games. We'll see what Gritsyuk looks like once he steps onto NHL ice next season, but there's potential for one more impact player from Shero.
Overall, the Devils' core players are almost exclusively from Shero. The organization's future wouldn't look as promising as it does today if it weren't for Shero drafting Hughes, Bratt and Hischier. And even some of the players Fitzgerald acquired wouldn't have happened without Shero's work.
Time will tell if the Devils win a Stanley Cup with this core of players, but if they do, Shero will have had a lasting impact on the organization. And that only adds to his impressive legacy.