Devils co-Owner Josh Harris on Saturday said the team is going to be "very busy as an organization over the next couple of months to do our best to improve our team," according to Rich Chere of the Newark STAR-LEDGER. Harris said of the team's three-season playoff drought, "There are no excuses. We've owned the team for two years and we haven't made the playoffs either of those years. And the team has made the playoffs once in the last five years. So clearly we need to improve the people we have on the ice. We're going to work hard to do that. We have to up our game." He added, "Everything is on the table. I don't think the foundation is broken." Asked about the decision to raise ticket prices, Harris said, "I think we raised ticket prices in some cases and we lowered ticket prices in other cases. We are looking to add value to the fan experience across the board, whether that's literally having people standing at the train station, have our staff trained and the food people eat. For me as a person it's important that a family be able to go to this arena and afford it. I think they're still able to do that. There are tickets as low as 10 dollars. The owner's side of me doesn't love that, but I think it's the right thing to do and we're happy to do it as an organization" (NJ.com, 5/9).
NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN: In Newark, Steve Politi wrote Devils President Lou Lamoriello "ran the team" for "most of the past three decades." But now Harris is "clearly calling the shots," not Lamoriello. It "shouldn't be such a shocker that an owner is making the decisions for a pro sports franchise," but Lamoriello "made nearly every significant decision for the past 28 years." Politi: "Is this a good thing? Well we'll find out over the coming seasons." Harris and co-Owner David Blitzer have "done a lot of good things in two years, starting with the hiring of the two men" -- CEO Scott O'Neil and President of Business Operations Hugh Weber -- who "run the day-to-day operations of the franchise." The Devils "have gone from bankruptcy court to a viable business again, even if Harris admitted that 'this isn't a highly profitable venture for us yet.'" Politi: "Now it's about the product on the ice" (NJ.com, 5/9). In New Jersey, Tom Gulitti wrote Harris and Blitzer "rarely have spoken to the media in the two years since they bought the team." Harris on Saturday explained that this "was by design." Harris: "As a general rule, we believe in hiring really good people and letting them do their jobs and holding them accountable" (Bergen RECORD, 5/10).
