Consistency. That was the main takeaway from the New Jersey Devils’ breakup day. Multiple players, as well as Head Coach Sheldon Keefe, all stressed the need for the team to be able to find ways to maintain at least their “B game” when they don’t have their “A game.”

“That should be the bare minimum,” Captain Nico Hischier said. “I think that’s a bare minimum and that’s gotta be a consistent enough game. Like I said, that keeps us in games or gives ourselves a chance to win hockey games. And then, if we have that as the standard, we have more chance to win. But like, the B level is already like a high standard.”

“Consistency is King,” Jake Allen said. “I’ve always preached it. It matters within our game. Consistency gets you in the playoffs and consistency builds a really strong, competitive organization for a long time. So I think that’s one thing we really need to pride ourselves on here moving forward.”

Consistency is something that has eluded the Devils for many years now. They haven’t made the playoffs in consecutive seasons since making 13 straight postseason appearances from 1996-97 to 2009-10. 

That up-and-down nature played a big part in getting GM Tom Fitzgerald fired. It’s what might cost Keefe his job once ownership decides what it wants to do. And it’s the reason why this roster could look very different come next season.

“This is definitely not the expectation or the standard we want to set,” Jack Hughes said. “We need to raise the bar way higher and start to take strides as an organization.”

“I feel like we need a big off-season from everyone and myself,” added Jacob Markstrom. “I got to lead the way and we got to come in with a chip on our shoulder, pissed off. It’s a humbling moment to stand here right now when there are still games going on.”

Humbling and disappointing. One could even say that next year is a “make-or-break” season for the Devils’ current core, which has been together for several years. 

“Should have been this year too,” Hischier said in regards to the make-or-break sentiment. “Obviously, we’re not getting younger either. We’re all super competitive and nobody likes where we’re at. I also know how competitive (we) are and we’re all gonna be a bit pissed off or disappointed. We don’t want this again to happen.”

“If you look at our team, we should be playing in the playoffs consistently,” Timo Meier explained. “And like I mentioned before, our game was not consistent enough. We just didn’t play up to our full potential. It’s on everyone to reach their potential and bring their best version of themself to the team.”

That “potential” and “best versions” start with the players, but it also involves the coaching staff. After all, it’s up to the coaches to help get the most out of their players. 

“I mean, clearly it’s a big discussion point,” Keefe said. “And something we need to look at. It’s a challenging one to analyze because you look at our season and you can break it down in so many different ways; look at it in different manners. Obviously, Jack’s presence is very significant. When he was in our lineup, I look at it as different portions of the season. 

“The first part of the season, the first 17 games that he plays with us, we’re 12-4-1, sitting second overall in The League. You look at the second portion of the season, where he’s healthy, coming out of the Olympics and we like our game in that portion too. Those two segments of the season, we play at a .640 points percentage clip, which would have us, I think, seventh overall in The NHL. 

“So, those portions you feel good about and it speaks to how important a healthy Jack is. Yet there’s a lot in between that. Both between the time Jack’s missed and then also the time period when Jack came back, but was restricted and had a brace on his hand and scored two goals in those 19 games and was clearly limited. So, it speaks to the impact that Jack has, but it also kind of exposed how we need to have more support underneath that. 

“We can’t be vulnerable like that. And we’ve had other players, obviously (Brett) Pesce missed over half the season as well. It’s a significant loss, but these things can’t derail your season. So that’s a big part of the identity of our team, which gets altered significantly. You look at it from a statistical profile, as we’ve talked a bunch about, when Jack plays, the team looks one certain way and plays one certain way. And when he leaves, it seems to take a while for us to recalibrate and to figure a game out. 

“So that’s on me to bridge that gap. You’re hopeful that Jack’s healthy and all of those sorts of things, but there’s lots to dig into there and I think, from a personnel standpoint, we can get more support and more depth. From a coaching standpoint, we can be more purposeful about being prepared for these types of things.”

The Devils are all saying the right things about being disappointed, about needing to be better and so forth. But, at some point, actions have to speak louder than words. Keefe talked about how this has been a pattern with this team going back five years. Well, the time is past for the players and the coach to talk about making the necessary changes. The time is now for them to actually make the changes; otherwise, it won’t just be the GM who pays the price and this franchise can seldom afford to go through another long stretch of missing out on the postseason.

Note: Dougie Hamilton declined to speak.