Hamilton Signing Signals Next Phase for Devils I ANALYSIS

The Devils organization has one goal: to return to the top of the NHL and win a Stanley Cup championship. But to return the franchise to its glory days of the 90s and 2000s - a period that saw the franchise win three titles - it will take time, commitment and a plan.
General manager Tom Fitzgerald laid out the blueprint on how the Devils would return to the promised land. The principles are simple:
"Drafting, developing and now utilizing that cap space to weaponize our team and improve it, not only today but in the long run," he said.
They have drafted high-prized talent like Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, Ty Smith, Alexander Holtz, and developed players like Jesper Bratt, Yegor Sharangovich, Mackenzie Blackwood. The team's youth movement hit full swing during the 2020-21 season, but it was an important marker on the blueprint.
"When I rolled out my roadmap to where we want to go, I talked about the learning to win phase," Fitzgerald said. "Last year was a great step for our young players, playing in a division that was hard. This division was extremely hard. You're playing tough teams every single night. There were no nights off. I just thought the battles we were going to be in every night would help move this thing forward, understand what it takes to get to the playoffs."

New Jersey has drafted and developed, and this summer they've weaponized their cap space. First with the acquisition of defenseman Ryan Graves from Colorado and then
signing goaltender Jonathan Bernier
in the opening hour of the NHL's free agency period, which began Wednesday at noon.
But the biggest splash made by the Devils came six hours after the free agency bell rung when they
agreed to terms with the best available player on the market
, defenseman Dougie Hamilton.
Adding those key pieces to what was built through the draft and developed during the crucible of last season is the next step in the Devils' roadmap.
"I always believed that you have to surround these guys with experience," Fitzgerald said. "Seeing some of our young kids grow like last year and how do we push them further to, I don't want to say accelerate the process, but help push them into the next phase of their careers and ours as a team.
"Timing is everything.

I pushed our ownership on why this makes sense now."
And the next level is where the Devils expect to be next season. Though this move wasn't just about improving the team for 2021-22, but beyond.
"It's not about this year," Fitzgerald said. "It's about when everybody hits their stride and how

and push everybody into that right direction.
"A player that we felt not only would impact our team now, but when we're at the level that we want to be, once we hit that, we call it, the Championship run."
Selling that Championship run and the future vision of the franchise was an important element in recruiting the biggest free agent in franchise history to sign on the dotted line.
"Selling what we want to be and where we want to go and how we're going to get there," Fitzgerald said. "You can lay the bricks on what your vision is."
Hamilton is another brick, though a mighty large brick, on the team's foundation. That doesn't mean that tomorrow the club will be competing for a Stanley Cup. The roadmap is long and winding.

"We're all realistic. We're better today than we were yesterday or two days ago," Fitzgerald said. "That's the important thing. Drafting and developing are at the forefront of how we're going to grow this organization back to where we want it to be, and where it needs to go for our fans. Adding players like (Hamilton) can help the process. It helps. Not only does it build confidence of our fanbase or with our staff, our players, they see that we want to help. Now we're putting our money where our mouth is.
"But there are still steps that we have to get to. We still have young players in our organization that have to mature and go through the American League and the grind. That's a focus. I just believe it will all continue to come together and roll right into where we want to be. I do trust the process. I believe in developing. I believe in drafting properly and identifying talent. You can't just snap your fingers and say we're there now. There has to be a process in adding players and continuing to get better."
The Devils showed that they're committed to building a winner in
Newark
, from the owners for signing off on a $63-million investment in Hamilton, to Fitzgerald for pushing the right buttons to recruit him, down to the staff.
"It shows people that we're committed. We've got owners that want to get back to the winning ways," Fitzgerald said. "And having good people a part of this, understanding what it takes to win, the commitment from each player, staff member, ownership, anyone in our organization puts forth.
"But understand the process and understand that we're not just going to snap our fingers. When we can show people outside that we're committed to building this thing the right way. I think it's my job as the manager to show the players and the agents that (New Jersey) is a hidden gem."
And when a player like Hamilton chooses New Jersey, a player that had numerous suitors lining up with a desire to have him pull on their sweater, it sends a message to the rest of the league. Other players pay attention.
"When a player like Dougie chooses us, and Jonathan, it says we're offering something unique and pretty fun," Fitzgerald said. "We've got good hockey players here, it's a great place to live, we have passionate fans. Now we're just continuing to add players of their stature to the organization to really show the commitment that we have to improving."