Devils’ Dillon Speaks on ‘Pissed Off’ Mindset That Can Help Team Attain Consistency – The Hockey Writers – New Jersey Devils

Historically, many teams that fail to reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs have been rumored to experience locker room chemistry issues. It was clear that wasn’t the case for the 2025-26 New Jersey Devils.

At nearly all times, teammates were laughing, smiling and keeping the vibes light. “We’re a tight group in here and have a lot of fun together day in and day out,” said forward Connor Brown earlier in the season.

“It’s everything,” said head coach Sheldon Keefe. “You know…the reality is over the course of an NHL season, you spend more time together than you do your own families. So you’ve got to hope that the guys enjoy their time together and can coexist. That’s a huge part of it…So, we’re fortunate. We’ve got lots of great personalities, great character, great leadership, [it’s a] very welcoming group.”

It should go without saying that being a tight-knit group is a vital part of many successful teams. But could there come a point where accountability goes by the wayside in order to preserve team camaraderie, thus hurting the team?

At exit interviews, The Hockey Writers asked defenseman Brenden Dillon for his view on whether the Devils were able to successfully attain that balance. He gave some spectacular insight:

“That’s a big balance that has to be, whether it’s guys challenging each other, shift to shift, or period to period. It’s healthy to have that. The best teams that I’ve been on, I always revert back to my days in San Jose, because that was the most playoff success I had. We had probably four or five, six Hall of Famers on those teams. Those guys would challenge each other, you know, there would be some screaming matches, there’d be some honest conversations. And it wasn’t like guys were getting sensitive about that. They were able to take that and make themselves better. And I think seeing that within our locker room, it started to happen a little bit. Frustrations, obviously, with how the season played out, would boil over too, and that shows emotion that you want to win, that you’re competitive, and I don’t think you should ever shy that away. It’s not like in practice, we’re having fights and guys are breaking sticks over each other’s heads, but that’s how you get better throughout a season: pushing each other and the competitiveness. Winning a drill or scoring a goal on a defensive drill, that pisses me off. And you know, us shutting down offensive guys like that should piss them off. And I think that’s kind of the next level for us to get that consistency going. Every day of practice, it’s recognizing it’s another practice day in the NHL. This is a big chance to get better. It’s an honor to be in the NHL…And you know, it’s tough in this league to win. So any chance you can get 1% better, whether that’s in practice or with your teammates or talking about it, or using video…I think those are all things that are going to make the New Jersey Devils better, hopefully sooner than later.

– Devils’ defenseman Brenden Dillon

It’s certainly not that accountability never happens — as Dillon referenced, it “started to happen”, but there’s clearly an extra gear of competitiveness that is still to be desired.

That doesn’t mean a team shouldn’t enjoy playing cards or cracking jokes when the time is right. But sometimes, upping the intensity — whether vocally or during a drill — can help bring out a competitive edge in the most crucial times.

Based on the sentiment from a multitude of media scrums post-Olympics, Jack Hughes started to take charge in that regard. While captain Nico Hischier typically leads by example rather than being vocal, Jack adding that vocal element can mesh well. No player besides Connor McDavid had more points post-Olympics, thus meaning Jack can almost always back up his words with his play.

Brown, Jack’s linemate for the home stretch of the season, added some great analysis: “[Jack’s] been a leader since he’s got back,” he said. “You know, I saw a lot more conviction in him too after the Olympics. I’m sure that you get surrounded by so many great players [there], you know, Stanley Cup champions and stuff. I know that he was rooming with his brother Quinn and hanging out with the Tkachuks. Matthew [Tkachuk]’s got a really good track record as of late and learning from guys like that. The one thing about Jack is he’s a really smart guy, so he learns quickly. We talked about growth that needs to happen…That’s a that’s a big area of growth that I think did happen this year in Jack.”

At the end of the day, nothing will make a difference more than the Devils improving their roster depth, something new general manager Sunny Mehta plans to make happen: “It’s my job to make sure that this roster is consistently flush with the necessary amount of talent to be a championship team,” he said during his introductory press conference.

But still, so many different facets help comprise a championship team. While it can’t be measured in numbers, the correct balance between camaraderie and accountability could be the difference in potentially going the distance one day.