Today, the Devils announced that they will not be renewing the contract of longtime Director of Scouting, David Conte. Conte had served as the Devils Director of Scouting for 22 seasons and was promoted to Vice President of Hockey Operations in 2006.
General Manager Ray Shero issued the following statement: “David and I have had numerous discussions regarding his future. Based on our conversations, I believe it is in the best interests of our organization for David to pursue other opportunities and to not renew his contract. I would personally like to thank David Conte for his 31 years of service to the New Jersey Devils organization. His contributions to the success of the hockey operations department have been immense. The search for his successor will begin immediately.”
A number of great players were drafted over Conte’s tenure with the Devils. Some of his selections include Martin Brodeur, Scott Niedermayer, Brendan Shanahan, Scott Gomez, and Patrik Elias. However, the Devils have struggled to draft effectively for quite some time. High draft picks such as Niclas Bergfors, Matt Corrente, and Mattias Tedenby did not pan out for the Devils and have set the team back compared to their rivals. Conte was also instrumental in the signings of undrafted free agents such as Brian Rafalski, Andy Greene, and John Madden.
While Conte has done great things for the Devils, now is a good time for the two sides to part ways. With Ray Shero in charge, the team is going through a transitional period and it is time to bring in fresh faces to the club. The Devils have struggled to build through the draft for quite some time and it has caught up to the team. Getting someone who has some fresh ideas and a different eye for talent in scouting will be good for a team that is looking to rebuild through the draft over the course of the next couple of seasons.
It’s safe to say that the Devils are going through major changes under Ray Shero and that this is the beginning of a new era for New Jersey Devils hockey. There could be more changes to come from Shero in the following days and weeks. We’ll just have to wait and see what’s next.