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| Josh Harris and David Blitzer, the new owners of the Devils. (Photo credit: USA Today) |
The Specifics
Harris and Blitzer bought the Devils and the operating rights to the Rock for a reported figure of $320 million dollars from (now former) owner, Jeff Vanderbeek, who will maintain a minority stake in the team and stay on board as a "senior advisor." Harris and Blitzer are also the owner's of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers. A little background on both of these guys first. Both of them graduated from the prestigious Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Harris is a co-founder of the private equity firm Apollo Global Management in New York City and has an estimated worth of more than $2 billion. Blitzer is senior managing director and head of tactical opportunities for Blackstone in New York, the world’s largest private equity firm. So, it's safe to say that these guys have the necessary cash to properly run a professional sports team. With new owners come changes to the behind-the-scenes staff. Scott O'Neil, former president of Madison Square Garden Sports, will come on to become CEO of Devils Arena Entertainment, the non-hockey arm of the Prudential Center and where I was an intern during the Spring 2011 semester. I interned for Rich Krezwick, then president of DAE, but it looks like O'Neil will be taking over his role. I wish Rich all the best. I hope the other people still at DAE get the chance to keep their jobs. There are some great people there that will do great things for the organization. But, even with new owners presumably changing things up, the most important man to New Jersey Devils hockey not named Martin Brodeur will still remain at the helm.
Lou Lamoriello Keeps His Throne
Lou Lamoriello will remain the President/GM/CEO/Overlord of all things Devils hockey in midst of the ownership changing hands. Did you really think that Lou was going anywhere? I don't care who owns the team, the New Jersey Devils are Lou's team and you let him run the show. The man has a trophy named after him (NCAA's Hockey East Conference tournament champion wins the Lamoriello Trophy); you let him work his magic. Smartly, the new owners have no plans to fiddle with Lou's methods on the hockey side of things. Why would you? The man is arguably one of the greatest GM's ever, and he's been doing most of his work under tough financial circumstances. Now, Lou actually has some money to spend, more so than ever before. This could spell trouble for the rest of the league. Now that the Devils are financially stable and their future is secured in Newark, we're about to become major players in future free agent periods. We can be in the conversations with the big-market teams when it comes to the marquee free-agents. Fans have been waiting for this for a LONG time. Hopefully, the days of hemorrhaging superstars are a thing of the past for the Devils, and New Jersey becomes a "destination organization" for players.
A Bittersweet Transition for JVB
Jeff Vanderbeek was a long-time Devils season-ticket holder before taking majority ownership of the team in 2004. The Prudential Center was his brainchild. It took a ton of effort on his part to get the arena approved to be built. To take a page from the Yankees' book, you could call it "The House That Jeff Built." Call me biased, but I like that name a lot! Of course, Vanderbeek would have loved to be the guy that was able to bring the Devils back to prominence as an owner. However, he was never quite able to get his finances in order once the bottom fell out of the economy in 2008, and that was what led the Devils to this point. One great thing that puts all Devils fans at ease is the fact that there was never any talk about moving the team when Vanderbeek was speaking to prospective buyers. I knew all along that Vanderbeek would never let this team fall into the hands of owners that had any ideas about moving the team. Harris has Jersey roots and Blitzer calls himself a "Jersey guy." Sounds good to me. The unfortunate part about the financial troubles of the Vanderbeek era was that this was all out of his control. Vanderbeek was a great guy; he really cared for the team. He just had bad luck once the economy went in the toilet. You really can't blame him for trying to right the ship.
Newark Will Continue to Improve
This was one thing I didn't expect to hear in the presser for the new ownership, but they made it a huge point talk about what they want to do for the city of Newark and how they want to keep Vanderbeek's vision of revitalizing the city. I love hearing that from them. The fact that they care not just about the organization but also about the long-term conditions of the community shows me that these guys are definitely the right people for the job. I haven't followed too many ownership transitions since I really started following sports like I do now, but I don't usually hear too much about the community work the new owners want to do. It's usually all about the team and winning. That being said, Harris and Blitzer have big ideas for what they want to do on the business side of the Devils. If they're going to follow the model they're using for the 76ers, Devils fans are going to be very happy with what they have in store. For one thing, 76ers tickets are pretty affordable now. Your ears just perked up, didn't they? Based on everything I read about the new owners, I'm more than happy with what's in store for the Devils for the foreseeable future. I think it's FINALLY time to retire the old and tired "Devils have no fans" jokes and the "Devils are leaving New Jersey" quips because neither of them are true any more. We're no longer restricted by finances. The Devils will be back to being a factor sooner than a lot of Rangers and Flyers fans would like.
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