From Section 20, the message inside Prudential Center was subtle, but increasingly difficult to ignore. David Blitzer, one of the New Jersey Devils’ co-owners, was seated at ice level rather than insulated in a suite, watching the game unfold in real time. Nearby sat Jake Reynolds, the President of the New Jersey Devils and Prudential Center. This was not ceremonial. It felt evaluative.
Ice-level presence strips away abstraction. From that vantage point, ownership does not just see goals and saves. It assesses deployment, spacing, hesitation, and whether the structure empowers or suppresses instinct. Losses like a 3–0 defeat to Columbus are not dismissed as anomalies.