News Devils Team Notes

[New Jersey Devils]

The Conundrum Tom Fitzgerald Faces

My advice for Tom Fitzgerald....buy, buy, buy (on players with term) | Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images

Tom Fitzgerald made his bed, and the Devils now have to lie in it.

Tom Fitzgerald has put the New Jersey Devils in the position that they are in right now, for better or worse.

Five years into his run as the General Manager of this team, the Devils have made the postseason once. And for the second season in a row, a season that began with so much promise is on life support.

That might seem a little melodramatic. After all, despite the Devils being the epitome of average at best since the Christmas break (10-13-3 to be exact), they still hold a Top 3 playoff position in the Metropolitan. For now. They’re still six points up from the playoff bubble and most of the teams behind them are selling at the trade deadline. For now. And speaking of the trade deadline, that is now a little over 48 hours away at this point. The Devils could still add reinforcements and it sounds like that is exactly what they plan on doing. Pierre LeBrun has said the Devils are basically poking around on every forward available.

And yet, it feels like the Devils are at their lowest point that they’ve been in quite some time.

It’s not just the prolonged stretch of mediocre hockey. It’s not just the Jack Hughes injury and knowing you’re probably not going to have your best player the rest of the way. It’s not just knowing what Jack’s history is when it comes to shoulder injuries. It’s not the double whammy of losing Dougie Hamilton in the very next game combined with arguably the worst loss the Devils have experienced since Opening Night 2019 against Winnipeg. It’s all of it combined.

We all remember that Winnipeg game. The one where the Devils jumped out to a 4-0 lead only to blow it. Where new Devils PK Subban, Wayne Simmonds and Nikita Gusev made their Devils debuts, alongside newly minted #1 overall pick Jack Hughes. Where Taylor Hall was healthy and not too far removed from his Hart Trophy winning season. Where the fanbase was excited about the team that then-GM Ray Shero put together as the Devils were finally ready to emerge from a half-decade of mostly irrelevance.

Those good vibes lasted a whole 40 minutes before Winnipeg stormed back, scored four unanswered goals to tie the game, and eventually winning the game in the shootout. In the process, the Jets handed the Devils one of the more demoralizing losses in recent franchise history. The 2019-20 Devils ultimately never recovered from that loss, which resulted in both John Hynes and Ray Shero being fired, Taylor Hall being traded, and a last place finish in the Metropolitan Division before the COVID-19 pandemic ended that season a month early.

Hindsight being what it is, we can see that that team was flawed. Subban was a shell of his former Norris Trophy winning self. Simmonds was just about done as an NHL player. Gusev had a fine rookie year but skating and defensive issues had him out of the league just two years later. Hughes wasn’t physically ready for the NHL. Hall was entering his walk year and seemingly was never close to putting pen to paper on a long-term deal. This is a Devils team that was leaning on Mirco Mueller and Will Butcher to play 18 minutes a night. The team wasn’t as good as we thought.

For as demoralizing as losing to Winnipeg was in 2019, last night was worse.

It’s worse BECAUSE the Devils fought back after what happened in Vegas to overcome a 3-1 deficit and tie the game....only to lose in the final seconds of regulation and get zero points out of the game when points are at a premium. It’s worse BECAUSE you could argue the Devils got hosed on a controversial icing call and it seems like the officials have it out against the Devils. It’s worse BECAUSE there was some good process. It’s worse BECAUSE Erik Haula, one of the main reasons why the Devils haven’t had a good third line all season, lost a key defensive zone faceoff the one time faceoffs actually do matter. It’s worse BECAUSE of what the Devils have dealt with both with injuries and their mediocre play. It’s worse BECAUSE the Devils are in a playoff spot, but they’re hanging on for their dear lives, and even if they do get in, its tough to take them seriously as a threat to do anything.

Of course, anything can happen if the Devils get in. I still believe in their goaltending and their defense. I believe in the coach. I do think they’re capable of playing a grind it out playoff-style game. I don’t think the Devils necessarily played poorly against one of the better teams in the West in Dallas, or the game before in Vegas. And I do think there is value in the Devils playing playoff hockey. Those games are an important teaching moment for a group that clearly still has a lot to learn. IF they get in to the playoffs.

The problem is that those “when” the Devils get in has now become an “if” the Devils get in. Considering the Devils had a significant lead at the Christmas break, that is a problem.

Which brings us to Tom Fitzgerald, the architect of this team.

Generally speaking, I like most of the moves that Fitzgerald has made. It wasn’t too long ago where I was praising him for having fixed the Devils biggest issues heading into the season. I don’t know if it was just fool’s gold or me jumping the gun a bit, but the Devils have done their best since I wrote that to make me look like a fool.

Then you remember the WHY when it comes to why those moves being made made. That the Devils went out and added Brett Pesce, Johnathan Kovacevic, and Brenden Dillon to the backend BECAUSE they let too much experience on the blueline walk out the door the prior summer so they had to overcorrect. That the Devils traded away Alexander Holtz BECAUSE they whiffed on the 7th overall pick a few years earlier and they were trying to salvage some value from him before he’s out of the league in a few years. That the Devils did get tougher to play against with guys like Stefan Noesen and Paul Cotter, but they were soft in the first place. They’ve also had to use assets to get bottom six forwards BECAUSE draft picks like Chase Stillman haven’t worked out and the Devils haven’t developed forwards.

Who is ultimately responsible for that? Tom Fitzgerald.

Just like how Tom Fitzgerald has been responsible for the goaltending being a mess until Year 5 of his run. Just like how Fitzgerald has been responsible for $6M times five years in Ondrej Palat’s 77 points in 180 games. Just like how Fitzgerald is responsible for slowly chipping away at the Devils depth, whether its Fabian Zetterlund being traded, Jesper Boqvist being non-tendered, or Yegor Sharangovich having one good and one dreadful season in Calgary. Just like how Fitzgerald never replaced Michael McLeod despite having an offseason to do so and the 4C position has been a mess ever since.

Yes, Fitzgerald has been unlucky to some extent between Jack Hughes’s and Dougie Hamilton’s injuries, Corey Crawford retiring on him, Jonathan Bernier physically breaking down, and now, Erik Haula being a shell of his former self. But every team has setbacks. The good teams find ways to navigate them. For the most part, Tom Fitzgerald’s teams have not. And injuries aren’t an excuse for the nine weeks of mediocre hockey prior to Jack’s injury. Not when Jake Allen and Nico Daws picked up the slack while Jacob Markstrom was out.

Last year, I wrote about how Tom Fitzgerald was too patient as the Devils season spiraled out of control. I don’t really care if you call it patience or stubbornness but the bottom line is that the Devils waited too long to do anything to address their issues, which were blatantly obvious, until it was too late. Waited too long to get a goalie. Waited too long to fire the coach. Waited too long to do anything.

He’s doing the same thing again this year.

Tom Fitzgerald said back in December that he knew what this team needed. Those needs haven’t changed, and if anything, are only exasperated with Jack Hughes on the shelf. We’re now just over 48 hours from the trade deadline and the general manager of this team has done as much to address it as you or I have.....nothing. For the second year in a row, Tom Fitzgerald has had the glaring holes on this roster cost them games only to proceed to sit on his hands for several months. He’s been very good at identifying the problem, but not so good at fixing it once we get in season.

I understand the salary cap is a factor. I understand that he is believing in the guys in the room and believing the answers are in the room but at some point, you have to start believing what your eyes are telling you when you watch these games. Not all teams that fire coaches mid season go on a run but some certainly do. And its tough to buy the “you can’t possibly get a goalie midseason” excuse when just a year later, Colorado reshaped theirs on the fly before Christmas.

What does it say about the Devils that their bottom six has been the black hole it’s been and nothing has been done to address it? What does it say about the Devils “prospects” in Utica that nobody there has been deemed worthy of getting an extended look? Does that mean the GM who assembled this team is so stubborn that he refuses to give the Nolan Footes or Chase Stillmans or Brian Halonens of the world a chance? Or does that mean that the Nolan Footes and Chase Stillmans and Brian Halonens of the world aren’t getting a chance because they’re not good enough to be NHL players?

What does it say that about the Devils that two years into the Timo Meier experiment, they seemingly still don’t know quite how to use him to the point where he goes for a stretch of almost 20 games without a goal? He’s only the highest paid forward on the team. What does it say that Dawson Mercer has gone from top prospect to guy who hasn’t taken the next step and probably should’ve been healthy scratched at some point in the last two years for floating if he didn’t have a consecutive games streak ongoing?

Isn’t this an indictment of the general manager who built this team?

Until the Boston Bruins looped in the Devils as a third party to send Trent Frederic to Edmonton, Boston and New Jersey were two of the final four teams this season that had yet to make a trade this season. Every other team aside from them, Buffalo, and Ottawa have made at least one since Opening Night.

Again, the Devils have known about their issues since DECEMBER. How are we getting our first trade of the season three days before the deadline when we’ve known what the issues are, and this being a trade that did nothing to actually address said issues. I didn’t just write about the players they could and should be going after for the last six weeks for my own health (hint: FORWARDS). The Devils have sat by as players have come off the board, from JT Miller to Gustav Nyqvist to Trent Frederic to Mikael Granlund. On a related note, Granlund beat Haula on the faceoff ten seconds prior to the Thomas Harley goal last night.

All of this brings us back to Fitzgerald and the conundrum he’s found himself in.

Should he see where this season appears to be going and sell? Or should he double down on the investment he’s made in this group and buy?

I think the choice is obvious. Given what the Devils have already invested into this season, they need to buy.

I also think neither option is great, as I’ll explain below.

Why Selling is NOT an Acceptable Option​

The Devils became pot-committed for 2024-25 with the acquisitions of Jacob Markstrom, Jake Allen, Brett Pesce, Brenden Dillon, and Stefan Noesen between March and July 1 of last year. All of those players are over the age of 30 with the two goalies in their mid 30s. This matters as the Devils are no longer a rebuilding team that should be in asset-accumulation mode.

I don’t see how you do all of that, plus the Paul Cotter trade, and then five months into the season decide to pull the plug when you’re still in a playoff position, as tenuous as their grip on that spot is.

For starters, what exactly do the Devils have to sell? Yeah, they could probably get a 3rd for Allen, and maybe another 3rd for Kovacevic. What do they have other than that? A bunch of role players on expiring contracts that haven’t been good enough for this Devils team? All of a sudden, the Devils are gonna maximize selling the likes of Curtis Lazar, Nathan Bastian, or Tomas Tatar? You know, the guys the Devils need to upgrade over? Or a veteran in Ondrej Palat or Erik Haula who has generally been viewed as a disappointment? Or a guy like Dawson Mercer who’s development has seemingly plateaued.

What exactly are you planning on getting for these guys?

Even if you max out on the value of those guys, what does a couple of barely Top 100 picks and some magic beans do for the Devils going forward?

Not a whole lot. Certainly not in the immediate future.

Also, this is the part of the article where I point out that the 1st round pick they owe the Calgary Flames in the Markstrom deal is Top-10 protected. So even if you wanted to stealth tank or bottom out, you’d have to basically go 0-20 the rest of the way to make the bottom 11 of the league standings. Remember, the Devils would have to get into the Top (Bottom?) 11 to have a chance to move up to #1 overall. And that’s assuming that the teams already in those spots are good enough to win enough games to ruin their own tank. Seeing as we’re talking about bad teams that are definitely going to sell, I have my doubts.

What is worth more and what is worth pursuing? A roughly 3% chance of picking 1st overall in a draft with no clear cut #1 pick? It’s not like this is a Connor McDavid or Auston Matthews first overall draft? Heck, this might not even be a Jack Hughes first overall draft. Is that worth more than a roughly 3% chance of winning the Stanley Cup if things break right for you once you get in?

The choice is clear.

The Devils made their bed for this season with the moves they made (never mind the long-term contracts that Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier, Dougie Hamilton, Nico Hischier, Ondrej Palat and others have signed), and despite that aforementioned stretch of mediocrity, they still hold a Top 3 spot in the Metropolitan Division with 25% of the season remaining and most of the teams chasing them down anywhere between 6 or more points behind. Yes, Columbus is closing is on them from the rear, and maybe the Blue Jackets overtake the Devils for 3rd place in the Metro. Or maybe Columbus is another one of the average teams behind them that has gone on a run only to still be arms length behind the Devils when its said and done because the Devils have done just enough since the Christmas break to stay a step ahead. But can anyone definitively say Ottawa or Boston (who traded Trent Frederic and lost Brad Marchand to injury) or the Rangers (who traded Ryan Lindgren over the weekend) will overtake them this late in the year? I have my doubts.

I want to be clear when I say that without Jack Hughes, I don’t think this Devils team is a championship contender. But that doesn’t mean you just punt on the season either the second he goes down, especially when you have already done the work to this point to put yourself into a position to get in. Yes, you might wind up being a one-and-done playoff team. That might’ve been the case regardless of whether or not Jack got hurt. Yes, you might lose guys like Kovacevic or Allen for nothing over the summer. The Devils might’ve moved on from one or both of them regardless because there are legitimate hockey reasons for not signing either.

Making the playoffs matters. It should matter a lot to Tom Fitzgerald who made the moves he made to put them in a position to get there, because if he didn’t, we should be having serious conversations on whether or not a GM who missed the playoffs in 4 of 5 seasons is cut out for this job. It should matter a lot to a team with a young core that still needs that big game experience to learn exactly what it takes to make a deep run and win a championship. With or without Jack, the group itself needs that. It should also matter a lot to a coach like Sheldon Keefe who is ultimately judged on the team’s win-loss record.

If the Devils were to pivot now and sell and they wind up missing the playoffs for the fourth time in five years, what would the justification be for Tom Fitzgerald to keep his job going forward. At what point do on-ice results matter?

Why Buying Is a Must, Even If You Are A Reluctant Buyer​

Nobody likes to overpay for anything. And some of the players that I previously mentioned as having come off the board are a bit of an overpay.

But it’s also part of the territory when it comes to being a front office executive. If you don’t overpay for a player in free agency, he goes elsewhere and you don’t get the player.

Tom Fitzgerald probably could’ve made some trades by now. He would know the market better than I do. Some might argue that the prudent thing to do is wait until the last minute when the sellers lower their asking price.

Perhaps. Or perhaps its worth paying what the sticker price is on Saturday because that same player might not be around come Sunday. Supply is limited.

Perhaps the Devils could’ve gotten Jake Evans a month ago, or two weeks ago, or last week. Now he’s off the board. Not via trade, via contract extension. You snooze, you lose.

Perhaps its worth getting out in front of the issue like Dallas did with Granlund and Ceci. Or what the Wild did with Nyqvist. Or like what Colorado did with their goaltending.

Perhaps when you put a big contract like Matthew Tkachuk on LTIR, you use this opportunity to shore up a hole by going out and trading for Seth Jones like what the Florida Panthers did. The league’s LTIR rules might suck, but Tampa and Vegas aren’t complaining after using them to their advantage for their championship runs, and Florida isn’t complaining now either. You know Tampa and Vegas wouldn’t just punt on the season if they were in the Devils spot and they potentially had Jack Hughes LTIR money at their disposal at the deadline. Florida isn't either. We’re talking about franchises where pursuing a championship is the top goal, ownership gives the GM the resources he needs, and the GM isn’t afraid to make the big move.

I’m not saying the Devils won’t use LTIR to their advantage should the situation warrant it. I hope this isn’t like last year where the Devils had Dougie Hamilton on IR, but the team was bad enough where they only way they used it was being a third party on the Chris Tanev trade. We obviously don’t know exactly what the injury timeline looks like for both Hughes and Hamilton. I don’t want to speculate on either but I will say neither one looked good. And that’s a lot of money that could potentially be placed on LTIR though, giving the Devils an avenue to address several holes.

We also know that the cap is going up the next few years. By a lot.

The salary cap is projected to increase to $95.5M next season and $104M the year after that. Prices for free agents will increase as teams have cash burning a hole in their pockets, and most contracts that are already signed will only become better values because they were signed several years ago.

This is less of a concern for a team like the Devils who did most of their free agency shopping last year and have $77.643M committed to 17 players next year. Even with a pending RFA in Luke Hughes due a raise, there’s still plenty of room to go out and make additions to a roster that frankly could use a few more pieces up front regardless of whether or not Jack Hughes is healthy.

For that reason, I think Tom Fitzgerald should be prioritizing adding players with term here at the deadline. Get guys who can help stabilize the situation now, but also potentially be part of the solution next year. Take advantage of the LTIR rules now and worry about the cap come summertime when you probably need to jettison some dead weight off of the roster anyways, one way or another. We’ve seen time and time and time again just how fake the cap actually is and how teams will always find a way to wriggle their way out of undesirable contracts. Maybe its the Devils turn this summer, regardless of whether or not they add.

Now, will he buy? Perhaps. Or as Emily Kaplan said, perhaps they’ll add rentals as well.

I don’t love the idea of adding rentals given where this season has been going but its better than the alternative, which is continuing to do nothing. But the market is what the market is. Most of the players on the market are pending UFAs. That’s the nature of how trade deadlines work.

At least with rentals, you’re bringing in veteran players with defined skillsets who have been there before and might be able to stabilize the situation. Maybe you get some secondary scoring from someone like Kyle Palmieri and that’s the difference between a win and a loss. Maybe you get a defensive specialist and faceoff specialist so the next time the Devils are in a late game situation like Dallas, they win that draw and at least get a point out of the game. It might not be enough to get past a team like Carolina in Round 1, but at least you’re better equipped to match up.

Why This Probably Ultimately Will Not Matter​

At the end of the day, only one team can win the Stanley Cup. And with how things are trending, I’m not exactly confident that that team will be the New Jersey Devils this season.

I’ve already said that I don’t think this team is a contender without Hughes. And I know there are plenty of people in the comments section who have their doubts this team is a contender with him. That’s not the point. The point is even in a year where its this wide open with no great team and a year where the Devils should theoretically be all in, enough doubt has settled in, for me at least, where I’m beginning to question everyone and everything.

I don’t know how the Devils are going to respond after what I thought was the most demoralizing loss this team has had in the regular season in five years. I actually liked that they fought back tonight and showed a little something by tying it up, but losing in the manner they did can potentially break a team. And given how the Devils have generally reacted the last few months to a mediocre stretch, why should I believe they’ll have another response a few days later after yet another gut punch?

Tom Fitzgerald surely sees this. He surely sees Timo Meier and Brenden Dillon being devastated postgame. The Devils have had as bad a week as you can have. Vibes are as low as they can possibly be. So what is a general manager to do?

Fitzgerald could sell. It doesn’t sound like he is planning to though, nor should he as its the worst of the three options. Selling a few months after making the trades he made and the signings he made is counterproductive. I also question whether he has enough job security to punt on yet another season and keep his job.

Fitzgerald could buy and the Devils might stabilize things long enough to where they can hold off the also-rans in the Eastern Conference and earn a playoff spot. Maybe they add some guys who are under contract for next season and get out in front of their summer shopping a little early, thanks in part to LTIR. Maybe they even find a way to beat Carolina or Washington in a playoff series. But is there any reason to believe that this team will flip the switch all of a sudden? I think there is value in these players playing meaningful playoff games, even if it winds up being a one-and-done situation.

Or Fitzgerald could do what he does best in-season. Nothing. And just like with selling, an argument could be made that this should be it for him as General Manager of this team if that’s the route he chooses and this team misses the playoffs as a result, although his successor would certainly be in a good position with plenty of draft capital from which to trade and nearly $18M in cap space.

It’s quite the conundrum indeed.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2025/3/5/24368376/the-conundrum-tom-fitzgerald-faces

 

[New Jersey Devils]

DitD & Open Post - 3/5/25: Brutal Ending Edition

Dallas Stars defenseman Thomas Harley (55) and defenseman Esa Lindell (23) and center Mikael Granlund (64) and left wing Jason Robertson (21) and center Roope Hintz (24) celebrates after Harley scores the game winning goal against the New Jersey Devils during the third period at the American Airlines Center. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

New Jersey Devils & Related Hockey Links for 3/5/25

Here are your links for today:

Devils Links​

A brutal, brutal end to Tuesday night’s game against the Stars as Dallas scored the game-winner with just 3.9 seconds left in the third period. The Stars won 4-3. [Devils NHL]

Well!

Sheldon Keefe does not have a full update yet on Jack Hughes, as they continue to wait for test results.

“We don’t know the full extent of it yet. We’re expecting an update as a result of some tests that he’s had done, but we don’t have those results quite yet.”#NJDevils

— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) March 4, 2025​

It is common knowledge that #NJDevils Jack Hughes had his shoulder operation last year in Denver, CO. I am told that is where he has gone to get his shoulder evaluated. There is no update as of yet.

— Kristy Flannery (@InStilettos_NHL) March 4, 2025​

Emily Kaplan says before the #NJDevils game that she was told Jack Hughes is deciding whether he needs surgery or not.

— Alex Chauvancy (@AlexC_NJD) March 5, 2025​

“From Brock Nelson on down, the Devils, I think, will be inquiring. They’ve already called Carolina, for example, and said, ‘hey, if you’re doing something with Rantanen by Friday in terms of flipping him, let us know.’ I’m not sure Carolina wants to deal him to a team that they might play in the first round, but it’s an example, I think, of the eagerness and the way New Jersey may approach this deadline over the next three days.” [TSN]

Sure.

Hearing Trent Frederic will be traded to Edmonton. Believe this is a three-way through New Jersey

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) March 4, 2025​

#NEWS: We’ve acquired F Shane LaChance from Edmonton for facilitating an existing trade between the Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins.

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 4, 2025​

FWIW: “Don’t expect a trade involving 2022 No. 2 pick Simon Nemec this deadline. The 21-year-old has had an up-and-down year after a promising rookie season, but New Jersey would need a substantial offer to even consider moving him.” [The Athletic ($)]

Hockey Links​

After all that trade talk, Jake Evans signs an extension with the Habs:

The Canadiens have agreed to terms on a four-year contract extension (2025-26 to 2028-29) with forward Jake Evans.

News release ↓ #GoHabsGohttps://t.co/rppxtrgvWL

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) March 4, 2025​

“The anatomy of a trade can be as complex as the human circulatory system. It is a series of intricate decisions and directions that rarely go as planned or hoped. The roadblocks are vast, and the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is almost as difficult to attain as the myth attached to it.” [Elite Prospects]

Big numbers for the Stadium Series game:

The 2025 NHL #StadiumSeries delivers most-viewed regular season game since ESPN re-acquired the rights in 2021

More: https://t.co/xziLVITOkM pic.twitter.com/mZ030CgQzF

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) March 4, 2025​

Marc-Édouard Vlasic makes some history:

SHOT BLOCKER

Marc-Édouard Vlasic is now the all-time leader in blocked shots in the @NHL. pic.twitter.com/udaAKO5fBR

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) March 5, 2025​

Feel free to discuss these and any other hockey-related stories in the comments below.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2...s-in-the-details-3-5-25-brutal-ending-edition

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Devils acquire D Brian Dumoulin from the Ducks for a 2nd round pick & Herman Traff

Brian Dumoulin is a New Jersey Devil | Photo by Leila Devlin/Getty Images

Tom Fitzgerald made his first move to try to improve this year’s team and....it’s certainly a move.

The NHL Trade Deadline is tomorrow and aside from the minor deal earlier this week that saw the Devils act as a third party when Trent Frederic was sent from Boston to not New Jersey, GM Tom Fitzgerald has mostly been quiet in the leadup to the deadline. To the point where I wrote a bunch of words yesterday about the conundrum that he was facing heading into tomorrow.

Today, Fitzgerald finally got his guy. Did a team that is in desperate need of forwards go out and acquire one that could put the puck in the back of the net?

Of course not.....but how about a rental defensive defenseman? That sound good to you?

The Devils are finalizing a deal to get pending UFA D Brian Dumoulin from the Ducks in exchange for a 2nd RD pick and a prospect.

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) March 6, 2025​

Wait, what? A second round pick for Brian Dumoulin? And a prospect?

Prospect going to Anaheim is Herman Traff. https://t.co/QiAdD2IO4A

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) March 6, 2025​

Ummmmm....ok? But a second? Really?

The Ducks are retaining 50 percent on Dumoulin's $3.15M cap hit.
2nd RD pick going to Anaheim is this year's draft.
and again, prospect going to Ducks is Herman Traff

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) March 6, 2025​

Well, I guess that explains the second round pick (which will be the better of the Edmonton or Winnipeg picks that the Devils control). Particularly if salary retention is involved. Although that’s still a steep price for Brian Dumoulin.

Here’s the JFresh card on Dumoulin.

Brian Dumoulin, acquired by NJ, is a veteran defensive defenceman. Capable at keeping the puck out of dangerous areas, solid first pass, and good defensive stick. Not particularly physical. #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/IdnBSdoHeB

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) March 6, 2025​

So let’s talk about Dumoulin.

Dumoulin is a 12 year veteran, having spent most of his career with the Pittsburgh Penguins, but he has bounced around the last couple years with stops in Seattle and Anaheim. Listed at 6’4”, 214 lb., he is your prototypical defensive defenseman who blocks shots, hits people and is generally pretty good at keeping the puck out of the net. He also has a ton of playoff experience, being a key member of the Penguins blueline that won back-to-back Stanley Cups in the mid 2010s. It should also be noted that Tom Fitzgerald was in the Penguins front office when they drafted and developed Dumoulin.

The Devils have lost Jonas Siegenthaler to LTIR and Dougie Hamilton is week-to-week with the injury he sustained Tuesday in Dallas. All of a sudden, one of the strengths of this Devils team, their blueline, is looking thin. They wanted to add another veteran defenseman who can kill penalties, play tough minutes, and be trusted in that role. Dumoulin has played both LHD and RHD in the past so he does give the Devils a little flexibility there as well should Siegenthaler/Hamilton return at some point prior to the end of the season.

I can buy the argument of “If you can’t score, we’ll do the best we can to keep you from scoring”, so Dumoulin should help in that regard. Considering they were looking at the possibility of playing some combination of an inexperienced Simon Nemec, Seamus Casey, and maybe Santeri Hatakka instead, I get that.

But for a second round pick? With so many glaring needs up front with the forward group? With so many holes at center BEFORE you lost Jack Hughes for the season?

The most interesting slash devastating part of this deal might be that Tom Fitzgerald felt the need to pay the second round pick to get the Ducks to retain 50% of Dumoulin’s salary. The Devils have $13.1M in their LTIR pool after this deal with Dumoulin’s cap hit being cut in half to just over $1.5M. That would seem to be an indicator that Fitzgerald has a few other things in the hopper and he might intend on using that full LTIR pool. I would certainly hope so seeing as Dumoulin doesn’t address the biggest issues with this team right now. He’s not a center and he’s not going to contribute a whole heck of a lot offensively.

I don’t have an issue with Dumoulin, per se. He’s fine for what he is at this stage of his career, which is a solid role player. He shouldn’t hurt the Devils over the final 19 games of the regular season as they hope to hang on to a playoff spot. Maybe the Devils like what they see over the final six weeks of the season and consider signing him to a one or two year extension, which would make this trade at least a little more palatable. And in fairness to Fitzgerald, I’d like to see the full body of work of what he does at the deadline before judging him and before judging each move in isolation.

That said, my reaction was similar to yours, which was somewhere between “Why?”, “He’s not a forward”, “A rental defenseman, really?”, and “Make a move Fitz....no, not THAT one.”.

I get the logic behind adding another defenseman, especially with the rash of injuries on the backend. I get the idea of doubling down on one of your strengths. But to me, this felt like the equivalent of getting your car detailed and buying a new air freshener when the check engine light has been on for six months and you just broke down on the side of the highway last week.

Is Dumoulin addressing a need? Sure, I guess. Is he addressing the Devils biggest needs right now? Absolutely not.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2...m-the-ducks-for-a-2nd-round-pick-herman-traff

 

[New Jersey Devils]

At and After the Trade Deadline, the New Jersey Devils Should Purge Some Forwards

Photo by Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

To save the 2024-25 season, the New Jersey Devils need to make some adjustments. Subtracting some underperforming players, be it by trade or waivers, could help spark some life in this team.

The New Jersey Devils have a forward problem. Maybe it's stating the obvious at this point, but the team has a glut of underachieving players that have been regulars all season. This article was originally intended to question if the production of the depth forwards or the defenders has been more disputing this season, but this week's games kind of swayed the answer. Besides, at least the defenders are defending.

Now before going further, I'm going to take two names off the "get them off this team" list. The first is Timo Meier who has absolutely underachieved for how much he's paid. Timo isn't going anywhere with his contract and as the team's fourth highest scoring player, there's worse offenders here. I'm also going to give Dawson Mercer a pass in this article. Maybe I shouldn't, but when he has more points than Ondrej Palat without being spoonfed unlimited minutes with Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt, again I find it hard to say he should be off the roster. Now let's get to the players who should find themselves out of here, perhaps sooner rather than later.

Maybe the Devils roster was mostly static (aside from injuries) in order to maximize trade deadline cap space. If that's the case, after Friday, there's no reason why Nate Bastian should still be on this team. I can't think of anything he brings consistently other than turnovers. Maybe he's a good guy, but he's not producing, he's not adding physicality and other teams have an easy time whenever he's on the ice. Ditto for Justin Dowling. He's been an okay injury fill in, but that's all he is at the NHL level. Waive him post deadline and send him back to Utica. Bastian and Dowling are both UFAs at season's end, but if the Devils are serious about being competitors going forward, (and if Tom Fitzgerald is serious about keeping his job) they need to start fixing the mistakes now.

Curtis Lazar, while useful in the past, is having just a downright awful season. As another upcoming UFA and someone who plays like he cares, I'm on the cusp with whether he should stay or not. If he does stay for the rest of this season, he should be the nightly healthy scratch at this point. And speaking of nightly healthy scratches, end the Kurtis MacDermid experiment. It was an almost universally panned signing when it happened, and since that time he done nothing to change that narrative. The amount of minutes he plays per game deters nothing. The Devils have some tough players that can actually play hockey, such as Brenden Dillon. Fitz can go add more players like Dillon if he wants grit; having guys who average low single digit minutes of ice time while doing nothing to help the team produce is just asinine.

The Devils also have two more underachievers to try and move on from. The shared issue is both have contract clauses that makes them difficult to ship out right now. Erik Haula has had his moments in Devils red and black, but like Lazar he's had a bad season. If there's any way he agrees to a trade at the deadline, I say go for it. He's not scoring and he's been surpassed as a penalty killer by a number of forwards. Haula is in the latter stages of his career and his diminished role under Sheldon Keefe could see the team try to find him a different situation. The other player, of course, is the target of the ire of myself and many others: Ondrej Palat. Now this isn't going to turn into a Palat bashing, or repeating the same talking points about his performance. All I'll reiterate is what I alluded to earlier when discussing Mercer. For playing with Hughes and Bratt, the two highest scoring Devils, who have a combined 96 assists at the time of writing, to only have 13 goals is a level of bad that I don't have the words to describe. We all knew he was overpaid the moment he was signed, but his production has been worse than what it could've been. Both Haula and Palat's contacts adjust to modified no trade clauses next season; if you can't get them out by the deadline because they won't waive/no one will take them, then the off-season is the next best thing.

The Devils have found themselves with a lot of flotsam and jetsam in the lineup. GM Fitzgerald can start making changes to this support cast at any moment leading to 3 PM tomorrow. He needs to not wait until the off-season to start though. Even without Jack Hughes, this season is worth trying to salvage and build off of. Adding some pieces to push players down the lineup would be good, but so would be getting rid of the guys who aren't playing NHL level hockey this season. As i said earlier, if there's no takers, waive the ones without contract protections. At least TRY some of the Utica forwards who haven't had as much or any NHL opportunity.

It literally couldn't be any worse than the "depth" the team has been working with in 2024-25.

What are your thoughts on the Devils needing to cut ties with some forwards; do you agree with the names listed? Is there anyone else you'd like to move on from? Would you rather the Devils just add more players and push other guys into more comfortable lineup spots? Leave any and all comments below and thanks as always for reading!

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2...-new-jersey-devils-should-purge-some-forwards

 

[New Jersey Devils]

New Jersey Devils Acquire Cody Glass from Pittsburgh for a Third Round Pick

Cody Glass is a Devil now. Hooray? | Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images

Within the final hour of the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, the New Jersey Devils acquired a center from the Pittsburgh Penguins. A bottom-six, non-offensive center named Cody Glass. This post is a quick reaction to the deal.

In the final hour before the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, the New Jersey Devils have made a trade on this day. The Devils acquired a forward. They acquired Cody Glass from Pittsburgh. He is a forward. Is he any good?

Per NHL.com, the 25-year old Glass has four goals, eleven assists, and 78 shots on net in 51 games. He averages 13:25, which suggests he is in Pittsburgh’s bottom six. Glass is shooting remarkably poor at just 5.1% this season. Then again, Glass’ career high was back in 2022-23 when he had 14 goals and 35 points. It is not like he was ever a big-time producer. The average of just over a shot per game supports that. He has at least won over half of his faceoffs. But he has only taken 338 on the Penguins and past seasons saw him win fewer than half of his draws. So, no, the Devils did not pick up someone good at draws either.

Per Natural Stat Trick, Glass has averaged 11:04 of 5-on-5 ice time per game this season. That further supports he was a bottom-six forward for the Pens. Among the 13 forwards who have played at least 300 minutes of 5-on-5 hockey, Glass rates very well. The Penguins had the best CF% with Glass on the ice (63.34 for, 51.22 against, 55.29%); the third best SF% with Glass on the ice (28.37 for, 26.35 against, 51.75%); and the best xGF% with Glass on the ice (2.69 for, 2.02 against, 57.12%). The only issue was the actual goals. While other forwards got lit up more than Glass did, the Pens scored a meager 1.91 goals per 60 with him. A team on-ice shooting percentage of 6.77% and a team on-ice save percentage 89.52% will make a lot of players look worse than they were. The 5-on-5 rates tell me that Glass was at least competent in his role. Which is not easy on a Penguins team that has bled goals this season. Combined with the production, though, it is Tatar-esque.

With Glass owning strong on-ice against rates in 5-on-5, it made sense for him to play on the penalty kill. He has done so with the Penguins to an average of 1:20 per game and third most total minutes among Penguin forwards. When he would be on the PK, opponents ran up 117.12 attempts per 60 (second worst among the 7 forwards with at least 30 shorthanded minutes), 61.18 shots against per 60 (also second worst), and an expected goals rate of 8.39 (surprise: second worst). But because the goaltenders were better about making saves with Glass on the ice, the actual damage has been a refreshingly low 4.37 goals against per 60. Glass may not need to kill penalties in New Jersey. But at least he could be an option, if a risky one based on his Penguins minutes.

So is he good? Well, on his own, he could be a decent enough fourth line center. Which is not what the Devils really needed to bolster their center depth. However, I would argue it may be an upgrade at the position even if it is a slight one. That speaks to how bad it has been behind The Big Deal and Nico Hischier. Eric Haula has been so bad since his return from injury that there is a case to be made that he is the worst player in the division. Justin Dowling is just a guy and Curtis Lazar is a guy being scratched at times for that guy. It has been bad. Cody Glass coming in to provide decent performances will not move any needles forward the Devils. He may keep the needle from going backwards a bit. That is technically an upgrade. This is the best argument I can make for Glass. Even so, the black hole that is the Devils’ bottom six will remain a black hole. Glass was not a producer of many shots, much less points, with the Penguins. I do not foresee him flipping that script with the likes of Nathan Bastian or Paul Cotter or Tomas Tatar or Curtis Lazar (at wing).

Will Glass stay long? Maybe? Per PuckPedia, Glass is a pending restricted free agent. He earned a two-season contract extension after his career season in 2022-23 with Nashville worth $5 million. Glass was traded to Pittsburgh back in August 2024 along with a 2025 third and a sixth in 2026 for Jordan Frasca. Nashville wanted to clear that space after a poor 2023-24 season and so they did. Glass will not likely command a $2.5 million cap hit with his next deal. But with it being so late in this season, his impact to the Devils LTIR pool will be minimal. Like Lazar before him, he has a shot at earning another season or two of being a depth guy. As he is a pending RFA, the Devils will have some control as to whether they retain him for another season. It should mean the eventual end of either Dowling or Lazar or both by season’s end.

What was the cost to get him? That remains to be sorted out. Per Pierre LeBrun on X, it is a third round pick and some minor league players. While that has yet to be clarified, we have to go with it That seems like much for a fourth line center but given the time (final hour of the deadline) and the need of the position, that is what it is.

As much as I have stated how glaring of a need of the center position was, Glass alone is not really someone who addresses that need in full. Depth in support of a bigger acquisition, maybe. But not on its own. Definitely not with Glass’ lack of offense. I do not hate this acquisition. Especially if it means less Dowling/Lazar and forces Haula to do better. It is very much a “meh” deal.

Now that the Devils have acquired Cody Glass, I want to know your opinion. Are you whelmed by this move? Possibly underwhelmed? Waiting to see what the rest of the terms are? Does this technical addressing of the position satisfy you? Please leave your answers and other thoughts about this trade in the comments. Thank you for reading.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2...-round-pick-better-than-lazar-dowling-i-guess

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Lifeless On Deadline Day; New Jersey Devils Fall 6-1 To Winnipeg Jets

Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

As the NHL trade deadline came and went, the Devils never threatened to win tonight’s game against the Jets

Today was trade deadline day in the NHL. In the wake of an offense that has been nonexistent for months now, followed by the devastating injuries to Jack Hughes and Dougie Hamilton, everyone expected general manager Tom Fitzgerald to make some big moves today. Long story short, he never did. Then after the deadline passed, Fitzgerald’s team had an actual game to play, and they showed about as much life as their GM in a pathetic 6-1 loss to the league leading Winnipeg Jets.

One warning before we continue: I know there are some of you out there that are sick and tired of all the negativity that has been swirling around this blog (and the Devils fandom as a whole) over the past few months. I completely understand the sentiment, and in some ways I agree with this perspective. But that being said, this is going to be a very, very negative recap. I have just about nothing positive to say about both this game and about the overall state of the organization right now. So for those of you who want to avoid excessive negativity, this post will not be for you. I won’t take it personally if you exit now.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s commiserate.

While Fitzgerald didn’t make any significant moves, he did add around the edges. John wrote about the deadline moves in depth this afternoon, so I won’t spend too much time on it here. I’ll just add that Brian Dumoulin (more on him below), Cody Glass, and Daniel Sprong don’t move the needle much at all, and for a team that needed complete reconstructive surgery, a few cosmetic tweaks is far from acceptable.

As for the game itself, it was just more of the same. The defensive effort was reasonable, especially against a team as strong as the Jets. For most of the game, New Jersey did a solid job keeping Winnipeg to the outside and preventing a lot of high danger chances against. And when the Devils’ defense did crack, Jacob Markstrom was there to answer the call more often than not. So the defense was solid as usual, and the goaltending was solid as usual.

But as has been the case since Christmas, the complete lack of offense cost New Jersey any chance of winning this game.

I don’t know about you, but I find it very tough to enjoy Devils hockey these days. The offense being as absurdly broken as it is makes every game a complete chore to grind through. I’m happy the defense and goaltending keeps New Jersey in most games, but I never, ever, ever feel as though the Devils will actually score a goal. They don’t threaten goalies anymore, they don’t string together quality shifts in the offensive zone anymore, they don’t generate high danger chances anymore. When they do score goals, it almost feels like an accident. Even when Dawson Mercer scored the lone goal of the game for the Devils tonight, it was a wild outlier in a game filled with ineptitude on offense.

Devils games these days are just a series of shifts where New Jersey weathers the storm in the defensive zone, gets the puck out to the neutral zone, dumps the puck in deep, fails to win possession on said dump, let’s their opponent gain their zone again, and the cycle repeats until the other team scores. Do the Devils ever push back? It happens, but when it does you feel the need to take a video of it because you might never see it again.

There is absolutely no shame in losing to the Winnipeg Jets. This is an elite team with the best goaltender in the world on their roster. But they could’ve been replaced with the New York Jets tonight and I still think the Devils would’ve maxed out at one goal scored. They couldn’t generate offense when Hughes and Hamilton were actually in the lineup, so is anyone surprised that they only put up one goal on 23 shots this evening?

Natural Stat Trick had the Devils at a 45.83% Expected Goals For% at 5-on-5 tonight, but that is deeply flattering as Winnipeg took their foot off the gas in the third period...and even then they outscored New Jersey 3-1 in the frame! This is a broken team, and while they are still in playoff position, they are on the verge of losing their spot very soon.

There were no standout performances tonight, everyone in a Devils sweater was bad, especially the forwards. The loaded up top line of Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, and Jesper Bratt had their moments, but even they couldn’t do anything. The second line of Dawson Mercer, Ondrej Palat, and Tomas Tatar did produce the lone goal, but that was the exception in a terrible night. The fourth line of Curtis Lazar, Paul Cotter, and Nate Bastian is barely worth mentioning. If I really had to pick a “best” line tonight, I suppose I would choose the third line of Erik Haula, Justin Dowling, and Stefan Noesen, who did cause some chaos in front of the Winnipeg net at times. But they weren’t so much outright good as much as they were the best of a bad lot.

The defense might have been a little better, but they were bad tonight too. Don’t even get me started on Simon Nemec’s terrible, terrible, terrible third period in which he was directly responsible for two goals against. From my admittedly amateur eye test, I saw a lot of good from Nemec tonight. His puck moving ability and offensive instincts can be really, really good. The problem is he gives it all back with some truly heinous plays in the defensive zone, and I have officially reached the point where I’m starting to worry about his overall development.

This afternoon, I was angry. Angry that Fitzgerald did next to nothing to help this team. And what bothers me even more is that he got his toadies in the NHL media (redundant, I know) to go to bat for him in the days leading up to the trade deadline:

"(#NJDevils) Tom Fitzgerald had been one of the most active general managers.
- Elliotte Friedman on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast.

— Kristy Flannery (@InStilettos_NHL) March 3, 2025​

Friedman is a professional water carrier, so unless he’s breaking a trade, he’s not really worth listening to. But it’s not that I believed him and I was let down when this didn’t come to pass, it’s more that Fitzgerald or someone else in the Devils organization fed this to Freidman in an effort to avoid criticism. That’s what bothered me more. I took a nap right before tonight’s game and I was almost as active as Fitzgerald was this trade deadline.

Then there was this gem:

The Devils will continue to operate as buyers, per a league source. https://t.co/9Z8DQemiTq

— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) March 5, 2025​

I did more buying than Fitzgerald at the deadline, because I foolishly bought this nonsense.

So this afternoon, I was angry. But to be honest, as this game went on, I just lost the energy to be angry. Instead my anger turned to sadness. That’s how I feel writing this right now; sad, not angry. The Devils finally broke my spirit.

After a crushing loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, a loss that Jared argued was the worst this franchise has seen in the regular season since opening night in 2019, it didn’t seem like things could get much worse. But just when we all thought the Devils hit rock bottom, they found a new shovel to keep digging with.

I apologize if this “The sky is falling” recap rubs some of you the wrong way. It might be hard to believe, but I get annoyed at overly negative coverage and attitudes surrounding my favorite sports teams as well. But I’m sorry, I have nothing to be positive about right now. The New Jersey Devils are a broken team, and even worse, perhaps a broken organization. I have time for the argument that an onslaught of injuries to key players is once again holding this team back. But they were flailing even when fully healthy, so it’s tough to buy that argument too much.

This has been one of the worst weeks the New Jersey Devils have experienced in a long, long time. And I really don’t see it getting much better anytime soon.

The Game Stats: The NHL.com Game Summary | The NHL.com Event Summary | The NHL.com Play by Play Log | The NHL.com Shot Summary | The Natural Stat Trick Game Stats

The Game Highlights: Courtesy of the NHL’s website

Fitzgerald In His Own Words​

After the trade deadline came and went, Tom Fitzgerald held a brief press conference with local media. The Devils posted it online, here’s the roughly 9 1⁄2 minute presser in its entirety if you want to listen for yourself:

If you don’t have time to watch it, here are the cliff notes:

Fitzgerald bemoaned how much of a seller’s market it was. I do agree to an extent, some of the prices for trade pieces this year were pretty crazy. But plenty of other teams found a way to suck it up and pay the piper for reinforcements.

At one point he alluded to a player who he really wanted, but “finished second” for. No one followed up on this to see who he was referring to, which was annoying. But then again Fitzgerald was never going to say who it was even if asked directly so I guess it doesn’t really matter. I believe he was referring to Brock Nelson, who got moved to the Avalanche, but I can’t be 100% sure of that. I wonder if it will ever leak, I’d be curious to find out who Fitz coveted.

Perhaps the biggest long term question that has arisen out of this trade deadline is the future of the right side of the blueline in the wake of Johnathan Kovacevic’s extension (yes that’s right, Fitzgerald didn’t have time to add offense, but he did have time to extend Kovacevic to a 5-year, $20 million deal). Dougie Hamilton and Brett Pesce are signed for three more seasons, and now Kovacevic is signed until 2030. That creates a logjam for two of New Jersey’s three best prospects, Simon Nemec and Seamus Casey. When asked about this, Fitzgerald stated how this gives the organization “optionality”, which I did not know was a word and can only assume is a synonym for flexibility. It’s true that this provides flexibility and depth for New Jersey as far as right-shot defensemen go, but there’s such a thing as too much of a good thing. A lack of ice time at the NHL level could potentially stunt the growth of Nemec and Casey.

And then of course, he gave updates on the injuries the team is dealing with, which deserves its own section...

The Hits Just Keep On Coming​

We all knew that Jack Hughes would miss the rest of the season, which is of course quite a gut punch. But Fitzgerald also provided updates on Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler, and the news was not good.

According to Fitzgerald, Hamilton will miss “extended” time. Who knows how long that will be exactly. But somehow that wasn’t the bad news, as Fitzgerald revealed that Siegenthaler will miss the rest of the season. This revelation sheds some light on the acquisition of Brian Dumoulin, which now makes much more sense. I suppose the plan is for him to serve as a Siegenthaler replacement, as Dumoulin was paired with Kovacevic on the shutdown pair this evening.

It really is hard to fathom the injury luck this organization has experienced over the past few seasons. Both Hughes and Hamilton have now missed significant time in three of the last four campaigns, with 2022-23 being the lone exception for each. It’s not a coincidence that New Jersey set a franchise record in points during that campaign. Nico Hischier missed significant time last year and missed a brief stretch this season, Timo Meier missed time last season and played hurt for much of the time he didn’t miss, and Siegenthaler has now suffered major injuries the last two seasons.

These are the most important players on this roster, and they continue to miss significant time seemingly every season. I know we’re all sick of excuses around here, but to be fair, these are factors that have to be taken into account when evaluating this team.

Dumoulin’s Debut​

The first player general manager Tom Fitzgerald traded for, a few days ahead of deadline day, was Brian Dumoulin. So not surprisingly, he was the first to make his Devils debut.

So how did the newest (for now) Devil fare in his first game with the team? Well according to Natural Stat Trick, Dumoulin actually led the team with a 5-on-5 xGF% of 68.38%. The six forwards he was matched up against the most was the entirety of Winnipeg’s top-6, so it’s not like Dumoulin was able to coast against soft competition either. He didn’t put up any shots on net and barely produced any other offense on his own, but that’s not exactly his job.

I’m still not going to say Dumoulin had a good game, because no one on the Devils had a good game. But at the very least I can say he wasn’t a trainwreck tonight. If he can serve as a reasonable facsimile to what Jonas Siegenthaler was until he went down with an injury, that would go a long way toward stabilizing this team.

Rising To The Challenge​

Very early in the season, there was a narrative that started to form around these parts that even though the Devils were winning, they were only doing so against lesser competition. That narrative went away as the months rolled along, to the point where we were all talking about this team being one of the best in the league around Christmas time.

Well as the season circles the drain, it’s time to bring that narrative back. With the loss tonight, New Jersey has once again failed to defeat a team that is currently in playoff position. The last time they actually managed to do that? All the way back on January 11th, a 4-3 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Yes, it’s been almost two calendar months since the Devils beat a team in the top half of the standings. Since that game on January 11th, New Jersey is 0-10 against teams that entered today in a playoff spot.

Even if the Devils do squeak into the postseason, their stay will be very brief.

Next Time Out​

The Devils are back at it on Sunday for a matinee game in Philadelphia against the Flyers. Puck drop is scheduled for 1:00pm.

Your Take​

What did you make of tonight’s game? Are you able to find any positives tonight? What do you expect from the other new guys when they eventually suit up for the Devils? What do you expect next time out? As always, thanks for reading.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2...to-winnipeg-jets-hughes-hischier-bratt-ehlers

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Devils’ CHIP Will Balloon The Rest of the Season

Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

With injuries piling up, especially among some of the top players on the team, what was once an area of luck this season is becoming quite unlucky.

I know this season has become somewhat dire for the New Jersey Devils and us fans. With multiple important injuries, the odds of the Devils even making the playoffs have gone down, never mind actually making a run and doing damage once the playoffs begin. It has led to real questions about what Tom Fitzgerald should do and how to make the most of this season so it is not considered ultimately lost already. These are tough questions I don’t have an answer for, nor do I want to answer those today, on the day after the trade deadline.

What I want to do is just take a look at is the massive CHIP that the Devils will be adding for the rest of the season. CHIP here stands for the Cap Hit of Injured Players. It is the way to check how injuries are affecting teams. The higher the CHIP for a team, the more that injuries are affecting that team. It isn’t a perfect match. You could have a player making a high salary that is not very good, and their injury might not affect a team as much as the CHIP stat will state. But on average, players with higher cap hits are more integral to a team’s success, so the higher the cap hit of injured players, the more a team is affected.

Heading into the Four Nations break, the Devils had actually been pretty lucky in terms of injuries. Check out the chart of all 32 teams and their CHIP at the break, thanks to the NHL Injury Viz:

As you can see, before the berak, the Devils were the 5th luckiest team in terms of injuries. Only Winnipeg, Nashville, NYR, and Detroit had a smaller CHIP than the Devils. At that time, the team had lost 93 man games due to injury, and had a total cap hit of injured players across those games at $3.04 million. Most of that came from 3 injuries: Brett Pesce at the start of the season, and then both Nico Hischier and Jakob Markstrom heading into the Four Nations break. Other than that, injuries were mostly small in terms of cap hit. Luke Hughes missed some games, as did Jonas Siegenthaler, Jake Allen, and others. The next biggest cap hit at the time was from Erik Haula, who has played poorly enough that his loss actually wasn’t a big deal despite his cap hit.

Now, however, the Devils’ CHIP will balloon, and it will be very relevant. Jakob Markstrom will continue to add to the team’s overall CHIP, and his contract hits the team at $50k a game he misses, approximately. But that won’t be as big as Jack Hughes’ CHIP. Making $8 million per year, divided over 82 games, that comes out to about $97.5k per game. So, every game both of these guys miss to injury adds $147.5 thousand to the team’s overall CHIP. For a team that only had an overall CHIP of just over $3 million across its first 57 games, that is a massive amount. And considering that cap hit comes from both the team’s best player and top goaltender, it is a massive hit.

If neither player comes back this season, just the CHIP from Hughes and Markstrom will come out to $2.65 million over the final 18 games, getting close to what the team had across its first 57 games. That is how massive these injuries are, at least in mathematical form. Obviously, we know how big these injuries are in terms of on ice performance just from knowing how good Jack is and how important Markstrom was versus what the team had last season.

By the end of the season, when I do my yearly article on luck, there is no doubt that the Devils will look fairly unlucky in the CHIP, thanks to the Jack Hughes injury. Markstrom staying out hurts, too, and it is likely that others will be added to the list as the final 18 games are played. With the season going sideways quickly, thanks to injuries and mediocre play, it is understandable to feel down about what was a very promising season. But let’s see what happens.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2025/3/8/24379255/devils-chip-will-balloon-the-rest-of-the-season

 

[New Jersey Devils]

2024-25 Gamethread #64: New Jersey Devils vs. Winnipeg Jets

Not sure if these guys will be here. | Photo by Rich Graessle/NHLI Images

After the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, why not take in a New Jersey Devils game? They are at home from a long road trip to host the Winnipeg Jets. Talk about what happens in the game as it happens here, in this Gamethread.

The New Jersey Devils are back at The Rock. The 2025 NHL Trade Deadline has passed. Whoever is on the team now is on the team through to the end. Make the most of it.

The Time: 7:00 PM ET

The Broadcast: TV: MSGSN; Audio: Devils Hockey Radio

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils vs. the Winnipeg Jets

The Song of the Evening: Fitting for the Devils’ situation and this game and the sentiment after the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline: “This Is Now” by the mighty Hatebreed from the brilliant The Rise of Brutality album.

The Rules: The rules remain the same as the Devils are wrapping up a trip in Dallas. Please keep your language clean (this means no swearing, don’t mask it, it’s not enough, no I don’t care what Tom Fitzgerald said), respect your fellow Devils fan with no personal attacks (play nice or you will not play here), no illegal streams (this means no asking, no hints, no nothing about it), and please keep your comments relevant to this game. Go Devils!

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2...hischier-meier-schiefele-hellebuyck-morrissey

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Cody Glass, Jake Allen Lift New Jersey Devils To 3-1 Win Over Philadelphia Flyers

Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

It was a new face and a familiar friend that led the way in a crucial 3-1 victory this afternoon

After the vibes around the New Jersey Devils were at an all-time low following a disappointing trade deadline and a lifeless loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, the Devils went into Philadelphia and took home a big 3-1 win over the Flyers on Sunday afternoon. Jake Allen played a great game, stopping 23 of 24 shots, and new addition Cody Glass scored the opening goal and helped create New Jersey’s second one to lead the skaters.

It really cannot be overstated just how bleak things looked after the 6-1 drubbing the Devils suffered at the hands of the Jets on Friday. I don’t want to relitigate how terribly deflating everything around the trade deadline was, we’ve done that plenty around here over the past few days. But suffice to say, you would’ve been hard pressed to find a Devils fan that felt any sort of optimism at the end of Friday. New Jersey badly, badly, BADLY needed something to help them feel good about themselves again.

Well lo and behold, one of the new additions we all dismissed made a big difference today.

In the middle of a fairly low event first period, Luke Hughes gained the Flyers’ zone off the left wing. He slung a cross-ice pass in the direction of Stefan Noesen, but the pass didn’t connect. Noesen was able to collect the loose puck anyway, though, and he tried to fire the puck toward the net. It deflected high in the air, and when it came down it settled right on the tape of a cutting Glass in the slot, who wired home a far-side shot to break the ice.

It was a huge moment for both the Devils as a whole and Glass personally, and aside from the goal, Glass played a terrific game overall. Individually, according to Natural Stat Trick, he put up a 5-on-5 Expected Goals For% of only 49.56%, basically breakeven. That’s not exactly terrific, but much of the damage against him came when New Jersey absolutely turtled in the 3rd period when protecting a two-goal lead. If we look at the Score/Venue Adjusted numbers, his xGF% comes out to 54.69%, much more impressive. The third line in its entirety (Erik Haula-Cody Glass-Daniel Sprong) played 8:15 together at 5-on-5, and they completely obliterated the Flyers to the tune of an xGF% of 93.03%. As an aside, it’s a little odd seeing Glass put up middling numbers individually while posting all-world numbers with the rest of his line. All that being said, Glass had a fantastic debut in a Devils sweater.

And speaking of Erik Haula on the third line...he scored today too. I know, I’m just as shocked as you are. His goal was similar to Glass’, in that a shot pinballed around to an open Haula to the side of the net, and he buried the puck into a yawning cage to extend the Devils’ lead to 2-0. Glass was one of the players right in the middle of the play, and while he didn’t get an assist, him battling for space in the slot played a big role in creating the puck luck needed for Haula to score. If Haula missed that one, by the way, he should’ve been waived as soon as he got back to the bench.

That was Haula’s first point since November 25th. Not even his first goal since then...his first point. Yes he missed some time due to injury in that stretch, but it goes without saying that a player that was nominally the Devils’ third line center for much of the season going three and a half months without registering a point is mind-bending levels of ineptitude. It was so nice to see him finally bury one today.

After Jamie Drysdale scored late in the third to cut the Devils’ lead to 2-1, the Flyers continued to push, but let their undisciplined side get the better of them. With about a minute and a half left and the Flyer’s net pulled, Travis Sanheim committed an unfathomably stupid cross-checking penalty on Brett Pesce to all but seal the victory for New Jersey. Shortly after, Dawson Mercer potted an easy empty-netter to push the lead to the eventual final score, 3-1. Erik Haula got an assist on that goal too, because of course he would post a two-point night after being held pointless for over a quarter of a year.

Meanwhile, Jake Allen held down the net admirably this afternoon. He came close to another shutout before Drysdale ruined his bid, but that shouldn’t take away from how strong he was today. It’s not like the Devils were giving up premium chance after premium chance, on the contrary New Jersey played quite well defensively. But they did allow some chances here and there, and aside from the Drysdale partial breakaway, Allen answered the call every time. According to Natural Stat Trick, Allen stopped 0.55 Goals Above Expected, a strong number and exactly what you want to see from your backup goaltender. It’s amazing how much the Devils’ goaltending has improved from last season thanks to Allen and Jacob Markstrom. They have combined to give their team a chance to win almost every night.

It wasn’t a perfect game, but it was a desperately needed victory. New Jersey has been in close to a freefall since Christmas, and had lost their last three games. Yes it was against a bad Flyers team that got worse at the trade deadline when they shipped out some quality players. But a win is a win is a win. If only for the sake of our collective psyche, it was nice to see two points coming the Devils’ way. We can only hope this is the start of the turnaround.

The Game Stats: The NHL.com Game Summary | The NHL.com Event Summary | The NHL.com Play by Play Log | The NHL.com Shot Summary | The Natural Stat Trick Game Stats

The Game Highlights: Courtesy of the NHL’s website

The New Guys​

We talked about Cody Glass already, but there were some other new faces in the Devils’ lineup today too. His linemate, Daniel Sprong, put up a strong game even though he didn’t find the scoresheet. According to Natural Stat Trick, Sprong posted a 5-on-5 xGF% of 75.30% to go along with three shots on net. Sprong comes to New Jersey with a reputation for being lax defensively, but for also being an extremely efficient point producer at 5-on-5. If this new-look third line of Glass, Sprong, and Haula can all balance each other out (Glass as the defensive conscience, Haula as the jack-of-all-trades glue, and Sprong as the finisher) then we might actually start to see some production from the bottom-6 on a regular basis.

On the blue line, Dennis Cholowski came over from the Islanders at the deadline and was paired with Brenden Dillon in his Devils debut today. It didn’t go quite as well as with Sprong, as Cholowski put up a 46.90% xGF% at 5-on-5 per NST. By the eye test, I honestly didn’t notice him much out there (which makes sense considering he played by far the least amount of time, 13:27, of all defensemen today). But I sort of consider that a good thing. If Cholowski can just make things not really happen during his limited minutes out there, I’ll take that as a win.

And while Brian Dumoulin actually made his debut on Friday, I’ll include him here as well. Dumoulin played with Johnny Kovacevic on the shutdown pair again, and NST had him at a strong 60.06% xGF% at 5-on-5 today. I hesitate to say Dumoulin played well on Friday, because I don’t think anyone in a Devils sweater played well that night, but I do think he was one of the least-bad skaters out there. Combined with a strong effort this afternoon, Dumoulin has fit in well through two games so far.

I’m still disappointed in Tom Fitzgerald’s lackluster deadline moves, but for at least one game, I need to eat crow. Glass was a big part of the victory today, and the rest of the new guys did their jobs.

Take Notice​

This might only be a concern of mine, but I think it’s worth noting. After Travis Sanheim took his utterly moronic penalty deep into the third period, on the ensuing power play, Nico Hischier was whistled for playing the puck with a high stick with under a minute to play. And well after that whistle, Flyers’ goon Travis Konecny threw a little cross-check into Hischier, pathetically trying to goad him into taking a penalty to give Philadelphia some life. Hischier didn’t take the bait, and Konecny had to tuck his tail between his legs and skate away with the loss.

The reason I think it’s worth noting is because, in my eyes, Konecny has officially taken the title of “Most Under The Radar Dirty Player” in the league. We saw it last season when he threw multiple cheap shots at Brenden Smith, one early in the season (that inexplicably led to Smith getting suspended for defending himself) and one in the Stadium Series game. We all know how dirty Jacob Trouba, Tom Wilson, Brad Marchand, and even Nikita Kucherov are at this point. But Konecny never gets talked about in those conversations, and I think he should. Konecny is going to get someone seriously hurt one day, he has become that kind of player.

Out Of Town Scoreboard​

We have officially reached the point of the season where we all need to do some serious scoreboard watching. Sunday’s slate is an interesting one.

By far the most important out of town game on the schedule is the Columbus Blue Jackets vs. the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. With New Jersey getting two points today, they are now six points clear of both teams, though the Rangers have two games in hand and the Jackets have three (though those numbers will go down to one and two respectively after their game today). Those two teams play at 6:00pm tonight if you’re interested in watching.

Elsewhere, the Carolina Hurricanes host the Winnipeg Jets at 5:00pm, and if you still consider the New York Islanders a threat, they play at 9:00pm in Anaheim against the Ducks.

Next Time Out​

New Jersey returns home on Tuesday in an absolutely crucial game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00pm.

Your Take​

What did you make of today’s game? Which of the new guys impressed you the most? What are you expecting next time out on Tuesday? As always, thanks for reading!

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2...1-win-over-philadelphia-flyers-hischier-glass

 

[New Jersey Devils]

DitD & Open Post - 3/10/25: Lifeless Edition

Winnipeg Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey (44) celebrates his goal against the New Jersey Devils during the second period at Prudential Center. | Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

New Jersey Devils & Related Hockey Links for 3/10/25

Here are your links for today:

Devils Links​

ICYMI: Tom Fitzgerald’s big acquisitions from the trade deadline.

#NEWS: We've acquired F Daniel Sprong from the Seattle Kraken in exchange for a 2026 7th-Round Draft Pick.

: https://t.co/u2cJlDxjBU pic.twitter.com/VpPYPJj5P2

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 7, 2025​

TRADE ALERT

We've acquired F Cody Glass and Jonathan Gruden from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Chase Stillman, Max Graham and a 2027 3rd-Round Draft Pick.

: https://t.co/I1luaua1fY pic.twitter.com/fbSMEYBv1d

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 7, 2025​

#NEWS: We've acquired D Dennis Cholowski from the New York Islanders in exchange for F Adam Beckman.

: https://t.co/eHCIuSzcNg pic.twitter.com/QzyYOpgyKU

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 7, 2025​

Johnathan Kovacevic signs a five-year extension:

Kovechkin’s ready to cook for five more years.

: https://t.co/NM5TdOt6Sd pic.twitter.com/pS6Fx0unDp

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 7, 2025​

Friday’s game against the Jets saw a lifeless effort reminiscent of Tom Fitzgerald’s work at the deadline. Winnipeg won 6-1. [Devils NHL]

Then on Sunday, Cody Glass, Erik Haula and Dawson Mercer scored as the Devils took a 3-1 win over the Flyers. [Devils NHL]

Injury updates:

#NEWS: #NJDevils President, Hockey Operations and GM Tom Fitzgerald said Dougie Hamilton “will be out an extended time” and Jonas Siegenthaler will be out “the remainder of the (regular) season.”

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 7, 2025​

“General manager Tom Fitzgerald was in a tough spot. There were basically 24 buyers this season, so there was not much to choose from among sellers. You also don’t want to go all-in on rentals with Hughes and Jonas Siegenthaler done for the season; in Siegenthaler’s case, it’s the regular season for now. Still, the Devils could have had a better trade deadline, and some of the players they were targeting raised even more concerns about what this front office views as needs for this team.” [Devils on the Rush]

“Yegorov’s tracking and size blend stand out the most. He looks massive in net, quickly setting and filling up space. He’s clutch in key moments, stonewalling momentum-sapping attacks and withstanding relentless pressure at the crease. Rebound control and chaotic movement have been the weak points of his game across his NCAA performances. Pucks redirecting into the slot have given him the most trouble. Still, this is a goaltender stopping shots in volume at just 18 years old—the future is bright for the St. Petersburg product.” [Elite Prospects]

Hockey Links​

Trade deadline assessments, grades and notes from around the league: [The Athletic ($)] [ESPN ($)] [Sportsnet] [The Hockey News]

Connor Ingram:

Utah HC goalie Connor Ingram has entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program and will be unavailable to the team for an indefinite period while he receives care.

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) March 9, 2025​

Feel free to discuss these and any other hockey-related stories in the comments below.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2025/3/10/24381954/devils-in-the-details-3-10-25-lifeless-edition

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Somewhere Between Disappointment and Hope

Cody Glass has made a great first impression on the Devils. But how much comfort can fans take in a year where things have felt increasingly disappointing? | Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

On one hand, it feels like ownership has failed fans and the team by not being more willing to spend. On the other hand, it’s hard not to believe in the guys still on the ice.

If you have been reading All About the Jersey throughout this season, you probably remember the trove of trade discussion that has marked this site since the New Year. With Jacob Markstrom out of the lineup, a languishing bottom six, and an injury to Jonas Siegenthaler, the Devils had the cap space to make a huge splash at the deadline while mending some of their flaws. Weeks or months of building expectations can prove to be hard to match, as Tom Fitzgerald recently experienced. After his deadline, John called Fitzgerald “soft” for his deadline moves.

The truth is that I am disappointed. I feel like Tom Fitzgerald, Josh Harris, and David Blitzer have failed the fans for a second season in a row. With massive LTIR space, most playoff teams would have looked to make a big move, bolstering their roster with the hopes that they become a truly formidable contender once some players return from their injuries during the playoffs. The Devils, though, did not use all that cap space, whether by choice or circumstance. Fitzgerald will claim it’s circumstance — that “they came in second,” and that they tried and tried but just could not satisfy the other side. I reject that thinking — the Devils have had LTIR space for long enough to have made a big move without waiting for the last second, and getting that far only to say — oh golly gee, we just came up short — smells of poor preparation and lacking alternative planning.

But perhaps Daniel Sprong was the plan B that never would have came to fruition had Fitzgerald landed his scoring target. On the outside, we only know so much. I would just argue that, even if Fitzgerald made another move, there was still plenty of room to make the Dumoulin, Glass, and Sprong additions. I noted in those deadline threads that I thought Fitzgerald’s deadline roughly deserved a D-grade with room to improve, as I really do like those players — but we are still missing the big piece.

I will admit that, had the Devils lost yesterday afternoon, this article would have been much more negative. I imagine the Devils are about 18 points from securing a playoff spot, and they have just 17 games to go. If they had lost to Philadelphia, of all teams, our outlook for the rest of the season would have been close to disastrous. Given the start that the Devils had, it just seems like the team continually lets problems fester until they either derail the season or completely squash the playoff hopes of fans watching the team. I had said, in January, that “teams that stay away from the waiver wire do so at their own risk,” referring to Tom Fitzgerald’s decision to ignore both Sprong and Jesse Puljujarvi on waivers.

I believe there’s value to be had in acquiring a guy like Sprong, who had two straight 40-point seasons with fourth line minutes on Seattle and Detroit between 2022 and 2024. You might expect his defense to tank the team, but his lines outscored opponents 78 to 66 at even strength in those two years. At the very least, Sprong is someone who is at the level that the Devils wanted Alex Holtz to play at last season — someone who can find spots to score on the fourth line while chipping in PP2 production without posting unmanageable defensive numbers.

I bring this up because trading for Daniel Sprong is a worse version of an acquisition that could have been made 9 weeks ago. I was adamant about making an addition at that point, as I had already noted the need to take advantage of the weak January schedule, with them failing to do so by the time players like Sprong were on waivers. With Justin Dowling thrust into a third-line center role, the Devils probably left somewhere between 5 and 10 points on the board by the point in the season we are at right now by continuing to play guys like Dowling alongside struggling players like Curtis Lazar, while Erik Haula was out with an injury. But instead of making any cheap depth moves, Fitzgerald rolled with it for too long. At a certain point, patience becomes a flaw.

But, like I said, I do appreciate having Dumoulin, Sprong, and Glass on the team. I think they all provide something that has been missing either due to injuries or roster makeup, and I will be hoping for all three to play the best hockey of their lives en route to a playoff run. I admit that the Hughes injury sent me on a short “the season is over” spiral, but there are a lot of players who make the New Jersey Devils win games. With that in mind, the last time the Devils went to the playoffs without Jack Hughes was 2018. The only players remaining from that team are Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt.

I would then argue that we do not know what a lot of the guys on our team are really made of. Is Dawson Mercer someone we can trust to center a second line in the playoffs? Unless Cody Glass really goes off in the next couple weeks, I imagine we are going to find out in April. Is Luke Hughes ready to be the number one defenseman on this team as long as he wants to be? He’s going to play the most minutes for the rest of the season, and probably in all situations. Is Simon Nemec going to earn and carve an NHL role for himself at his age? With Dougie out of the lineup, he can make a real difference if he gets it together. Is Jacob Markstrom the stabilizing presence in goal that we brought him in to be? Are Timo Meier and Jesper Bratt going to lead the team on offense without Jack? And who after them is going to step up?

So, I am not going to say another word about Tom Fitzgerald in relation to the trade deadline in any of my Monday articles between now and the end of the season. We know what happened before — whatever happens now is up to the team. Now is not the time of despair, but it is a time of self-discovery for some of these players. Whoever can step up and make this a playoff to remember and not just a forgettable lost season can make themselves a legend to this fanbase. Anything else could mean some guys are playing their last games in Devils’ black and red.

Your Thoughts​

Do you still have hope for this team? Who are you looking for contributions from? Who will rise, and who will fall? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2...vils-sprong-jack-hughes-glass-trades-playoffs

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Game Preview #66: New Jersey Devils vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images

New Jersey has held down a playoff spot all season long, but Columbus is hot on their heels. This is a huge game.

The Matchup: New Jersey Devils (34-25-6) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (31-24-8)

The Time: 7:00pm ET

The Broadcast: MSGSN, FDSNOH, Devils Radio Network

Last Devils Game​

On Sunday afternoon, New Jersey travelled down to Philadelphia for an afternoon matchup with the Flyers. Cody Glass scored in his Devils debut, Jake Allen was strong between the pipes, and New Jersey skated away with a desperately needed 3-1 victory.

Last Blue Jackets Game​

Columbus was also in action on Sunday, visiting Madison Square Garden for a date with the Rangers. Adam Fantilli notched his second hat trick of the season to lead the Jackets to a 1940’s football-esque 7-3 win.

Last Devils-Blue Jackets Game​

All the way back on December 19th, New Jersey travelled to Columbus for the first meeting of the season between these two teams. Despite the Devils thoroughly dominating that game (outshooting Columbus 42-20, a 5-on-5 Expected Goals For% around 70% according to Natural Stat Trick), Elvis Merzlikins played well and was the recipient of absurd luck to steal a 4-2 win from the Devils. The regret from that game looms much larger with the benefit of hindsight.

The New Guys Make A Good First Impression​

It wasn’t exactly a rousing win, but the Devils’ 3-1 victory over the Flyers on Sunday helped New Jersey right the ship after one of the worst weeks in recent franchise history. After losing Jack Hughes for the season, the Devils got their hearts ripped out by the Dallas Stars in the worst loss of the season last Tuesday, a game in which they also lost top defenseman Dougie Hamilton for an extended period of time. They followed this up with a terribly disappointing trade deadline and a horrific 6-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets.

So the win on Sunday was badly needed, and the new additions did their part. It starts with Cody Glass, who scored the opening goal and played a key part in creating the second one. His line with Erik Haula and fellow deadline acquisition Daniel Sprong utterly destroyed Philadelphia to the tune of a collective 5-on-5 Expected Goals For% above 90%.

Speaking of Sprong, he was held without a point, but as alluded to, he played a role in the Devils’ third line dominating the run of play. He finished with an individual xGF% of 75.30%, and he recorded three shots on net. Meanwhile Brian Dumoulin actually wasn’t making his Devils debut (that came on Friday), but I’ll include him here as well. He posted an xGF% of 60.06%, teaming with Johnny Kovacevic on the shutdown pairing. And lastly, Dennis Cholowski only played about 13 and a half minutes. While his underlying numbers weren’t impressive, I didn’t notice him much on Sunday, which I consider to be a good thing.

Devils fans everywhere were incensed that general manager Tom Fitzgerald did not address the glaring scoring issues at the deadline. Instead he doubled down on defense, with Glass, Dumoulin, and Cholowski all coming over with reputations for being anywhere from decent to strong on the defensive end. Sprong is the outlier here, but he brings speed and scoring touch in a depth role, which obviously helps in its own way. Perhaps Fitzgerald decided that instead of bolstering a flagging offense, his team’s best bet was to go all-in on defense (an area where the club was already strong) and try to win every game 1-0. It’s a tough needle to thread, but after getting over the initial disappointment of the trade deadline inactivity, I can at least understand some of the logic.

In any case, the new guys acquitted themselves well on Sunday. We can only hope they continue to play well.

The Biggest Game Of The Season​

The Columbus Blue Jackets were not expected to contend this season. In fact, many were selecting them to finish dead last in the Metropolitan Division. And this was before the unfathomable tragedy that took Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew from us far too soon. With a seemingly weak roster and monumental sorrow hanging over them, no one would have faulted the Jackets if they faltered in 2024-25.

Instead, Columbus has been by far the best story in the NHL this season. Somehow, someway, this team is right in the thick of the playoff race, and in fact enters tonight holding down one of the two wild card spots in the Eastern Conference.

Looking back on the Blue Jackets’ season, that win over New Jersey on December 19th actually seems to have been the turning point for them. Columbus entered that contest having lost eight of their last nine games, including five in a row, and with a record of 12-15-5. Starting with that 4-2 victory over the Devils, the Blue Jackets then won 10 of their next 13 games, and have gone 19-9-3 overall. This stretch has included both a six-game winning streak and a four-game winning streak, which is particularly maddening to me considering how many times I’ve written about the Devils not achieving a winning streak of four games or more since January of 2023. Heck, New Jersey hasn’t won so much as two consecutive games since late January of this season, and hasn’t had a three-game heater since December 21st-27th, coincidentally the games that immediately followed that loss to Columbus.

The Devils enter this game with 74 points in 65 games, and the Blue Jackets enter with 70 points in 63 games. New Jersey can exit this game as many as six points or as few as two points clear of Columbus. And the Jackets will still have two games in hand either way. This is certainly the biggest game of the season so far, and the Devils have only themselves to blame for squandering their once massive lead in the standings. A win tonight would be absolutely massive, not just for the obvious reason of keeping a hot Columbus team at bay, but also just for the psyche of a Devils team that has suffered blow after blow in recent weeks. The pressure is on.

Not Exactly Road Warriors​

One big reason for optimism from a Devils perspective tonight? The Blue Jackets have struggled mightily on the road. A huge part of Columbus’ surprise season is a wildly impressive 20-6-4 record at home. But on the road, the Blue Jackets are a miserable 11-18-4. Losing two-thirds of all your away games is a recipe for disaster, and it’s a main reason why Columbus is struggling to hold onto a playoff spot despite a pristine home record.

Now, the Jackets did just win a road game in convincing fashion, the aforementioned 7-3 victory over the Rangers on Sunday night. But Columbus put up 28 shots last time out, and I feel confident in saying they won’t score on 25% of their shots tonight (way to tempt fate, Jackson). And despite all their struggles since Christmas, the Devils are still a strong defensive team, and certainly FAR stronger than the Rangers.

The bottom line is, the Blue Jackets have had a really difficult time outside of Ohio this season. New Jersey will have last change tonight, and they need to take advantage of it in a big way.

Zach Attack​

Zach Werenski is having an outstanding season, to the point where he should be seriously considered for the Norris trophy. In 62 games played, Werenski is already up to 20 goals, which is tied for his career high that he set in 2019-20. If you’ll recall, a little thing called the Covid-19 Pandemic cut that season short, so Werenski reached that 20-goal plateau in just 63 games before the NHL suspended their season and went right to the playoff bubbles.

Werenski will set a new career high in goals this season, it’s only a matter of when and not if, and the Devils sure hope he doesn’t do it tonight. In addition to his 20 goals, Werenski also has 48 assists, meaning he is averaging over a point per game this season. He is also averaging a frankly ludicrous 26:54 of ice time per game, so expect to see Werenski on the ice for roughly half of tonight’s contest.

But is all of that scoring just empty calorie stat-padding? Is Werenski just racking up points on one end while giving it all back on the other? Not at all. According to Natural Stat Trick, Werenski is above the break-even mark in all the big 5-on-5 categories:

Corsi For%: 50.78%

Scoring Chances For%: 50.24%

High Danger Corsi For%: 51.30%

Expected Goals For%: 51.38%

Now, those aren’t amazing numbers on the surface. But in the context of his team as a whole, they kind of are. Here are those same stats except for the Blue Jackets as a whole (along with their league-wide rank in that category):

CF%: 47.25% (29th)

SCF%: 47.03% (28th)

HDCF%: 47.42% (25th)

xGF%: 47.80% (26th)

Yes the dirty little secret of Columbus’ season is that they are a pretty bad team at controlling the run of play. But despite constantly getting outplayed, they keep finding ways to win. How have they managed to do that?

Take a wild guess:

Team Shooting%: 11.66% (5th)

A shooting% bender can paper over a lot of problems.

Anyway, back to Werenski. Yes his raw 5-on-5 analytics don’t look particularly impressive, but on a team that is significantly underwater in every major category, the fact that Werenski controls play even a little bit when he’s on the ice is very impressive. If Columbus actually does manage to make the postseason, Werenski will be the biggest reason why. He’s been their do-everything workhorse this season, an absolute stud who deserves a long look for league-wide awards. If the Devils want to get a crucial two points tonight, the gameplan needs to begin with reigning in Werenski.

The Next Wave​

The Blue Jackets have had a lot of high draft picks in recent years, and those picks have turned into a promising young core.

Adam Fantilli might be their most promising young piece. The third overall pick in 2023, Fantilli enters tonight with 21 goals and 41 points in 63 games. Granted his underlying 5-on-5 numbers are all pretty terrible, with an xGF% around 41%, but it’s tough to ask a 20-year old to control play at the NHL level. He still has enormous upside.

Meanwhile, Kent Johnson, the fifth overall pick in 2021, is actually outpacing Fantilli with 21 goals and 44 points in 49 games. Johnson has fared much better in the run of play as well, with an xGF% close to 47%. Not good, but a lot better. Meanwhile, his fellow 2021 first rounder, Cole Sillinger (12th overall) comes in with nine goals and 29 points in 54 games. His xGF% is almost identical to Fantilli’s around 41% though, which holds back the rest of his game.

But the young Blue Jacket having the finest season is actually not one of those coveted first round picks. That would be Kirill Marchenko, who was selected in the second round in 2018. In 60 games this season, Marchenko has posted 24 goals and 61 points. And unlike the rest of the baby Blue Jackets, Marchenko’s advanced numbers are fantastic. He is above 50% in every major 5-on-5 category, including a stellar 53.05% xGF%. Marchenko does not come with the name recognition that the others do, but he is the one having by far the best season. The Devils would be wise to mark him closely tonight.

Around the Playoff Race​

Aside this obviously critical game, there are a few other matchups worth monitoring this evening as well:

The Ottawa Senators, the other team currently holding down a wild card spot in the East with Columbus, play at 7:00pm tonight in Philadelphia. It pains me to say this as a lifelong Devils fan, but go Flyers.

It’ll be tough for the Devils to catch the Carolina Hurricanes at this point (they are six points up with a game in hand), but their games deserve attention nonetheless. They host the Tampa Bay Lightning at 7:30pm. Go Lightning.

Finally, the New York Rangers are just outside the playoff picture right now at 68 points. They play the league-leading Winnipeg Jets at 8:00pm this evening. You don’t need any other motivation to root against the Rangers, but go Jets.

Your Take​

What do you make of tonight’s game? Which of the new additions are you most excited about? Who on Columbus will you be watching closely tonight? As always, thanks for reading!

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2...lue-jackets-hughes-werenski-hischier-fantilli

 

[New Jersey Devils]

2024-25 Gamethread #66: New Jersey Devils vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

This is Kirill Marchenko. Stop this man. | Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images

A critical four-point swing could be made tonight in the Metropolitan Division as the New Jersey Devils are hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets. Make it count, Devils. And in regulation. Talk about it here in this Gamethread.

A massive game for the Metropolitan Division standings and, more importantly, the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference. The New Jersey Devils would do well to take this four-point swing in regulation.

The Time: 7:00 PM ET

The Broadcast: TV: MSGSN, FanDuel Sports Network Ohio; Audio: Devils Hockey Radio

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets

The Song of the Evening: It is time to get gorier with the death metal. Or hardcore-adjacent death metal. Whatever. Sanguisugabogg hails from Columbus and “Face Ripped Off” is proof alone that they have the gruesome goods.

The Rules: The rules remain the same as the Devils are playing a crucial four-pointer with Columbus. Please keep your language clean (this means no swearing, don’t mask it, it’s not enough, no I don’t care what Tom Fitzgerald said), respect your fellow Devils fan with no personal attacks (play nice or you will not play here), no illegal streams (this means no asking, no hints, no nothing about it), and please keep your comments relevant to this game. Go Devils!

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2...chier-bratt-meier-marchenko-voronkov-werenski

 

[New Jersey Devils]

DitD & Open Post - 3/12/25: Mrs. Fields Wins Edition

New Jersey Devils defenseman Luke Hughes (43) celebrates his goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the third period at Prudential Center. | Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

New Jersey Devils & Related Hockey Links for 3/12/25

Here are your links for today:

Devils Links​

Jesper Bratt had a goal and two assists as the Devils took a 5-3 win over the Blue Jackets in a critical game on Tuesday. [Devils NHL]

Folks, it finally happened. A long-awaited victory:

WE WANT COOKIE. WE GOT COOKIE. pic.twitter.com/Tq4CITQfuD

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 11, 2025​

Hockey Links​

A 20-game suspension for Aaron Ekblad:

Aaron Ekblad has been suspended 20 games without pay, for violating the terms of the NHL's Performance Enhancing Substance Program. pic.twitter.com/aPHbsx59Y7

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) March 10, 2025​

Through the @NHLPA, Aaron Ekblad releases the following statement: pic.twitter.com/L8cCL59Hzd

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) March 10, 2025​

An assessment of the Stanley Cup Playoffs field after the trade deadline: [The Athletic ($)]

Eric Tulsky speaks here about why the Hurricanes couldn’t sign Mikko Rantanen: [Daily Faceoff]

Jonathan Toews: “I’m not satisfied the way things ended in Chicago. It’s not about proving anything. It’s just that there’s something left in the tank and I want to explore that. I want to go have fun, have a blast, play with passion. But at the same time, I still have some high-level hockey left.” [The Athletic ($)]

An interesting perspective on the trade deadline:

Feel free to discuss these and any other hockey-related stories in the comments below.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2...n-the-details-3-12-25-mrs-fields-wins-edition

 

[New Jersey Devils]

The Devils Need To Cut The Dead Weight This Summer

I like Palat. I like Haula. But They Gotta Go. | Photo by Gabriel Kuchta/Getty Images

The Devils have too many veterans on pricey contracts who aren’t quite pulling their weight (thanks, Tom Fitzgerald). They need to trim the fat this summer if they’re gonna hope to get better in 2025-26.

Last week, the New Jersey Devils signed defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic to a five-year, $20M contract extension that will kick in beginning with the 2025-26 season.

John was less of a fan of this deal than I was, as I simply wrote in the comments that “if they’re committed to going with a Siegenthaler-Kovacevic defensive pairing in the future, it’s fine”. I haven’t necessarily changed my opinion on that, nor have I changed my opinion that this more likely than not means the Devils may wind up trading Simon Nemec, Seamus Casey, or perhaps both sometime in the not too distant future. Frankly, I’m surprised one of them didn’t move on trade deadline day itself, but that might’ve involved a little bit of creativity and boldness from a general manager who played it too safe.

In signing Kovacevic though, it does raise the question of how this impacts the Devils salary cap situation going into next season. As you may very well be aware, the Devils could use another center and they could use at least one more scoring winger who can put the puck in the back of the net. Despite having plenty of LTIR space to address said needs at the deadline, Tom Fitzgerald barely tapped into that space.

The salary cap ceiling is expected to rise to $95.5M next season with two more large jumps in the subsequent seasons, up to at least $113.5M by 2027-28. That’s all well and good, as more space is ultimately better as the Devils have core players Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt locked up until 2030 and 2031 respectively (Nico Hischier is scheduled to hit UFA after the 2026-27 season). But with several other large contracts on the books and players showing varying degrees of pulling their own weight and living up to said deals, Kovacevic checking in with a $4M AAV starting next season certainly complicates matters to some extent when it comes to the long-term cap ramifications.

I’m not saying that to suggest Kovacevic doesn’t deserve the money. If anything, I think Kovacevic should be commended for coming into training camp in his first season with a new team, beating out a top prospect in Simon Nemec, winning that job, and holding on to it. NHL jobs should be merit-based and as we’re continuing to see, Nemec still hasn’t done enough to win that job back, and we’re at the point where Dennis Cholowski is playing over him in Dougie Hamilton’s absence, which should tell you all you need to know. Kovacevic deserves to be rewarded, but with that said, he wasn’t part of the Devils long-term plan when the Devils used a 2nd overall pick on Nemec in 2022.

The Devils currently have $80.69M committed to the 2025-26 salary cap between 10 forwards, six defensemen, and one goaltender. That’s 17 players in total, which is short of the 23-man roster limit. That leaves them roughly $14.8M in salary cap space for six players, but keep in mind, Luke Hughes will be hitting RFA for the first time as his ELC is up and he will get a raise.

It may be tempting to say, “just bridge Luke, you have too many holes elsewhere”, or jump through some hoops while doing mental gymnastics to justify keeping the AAV low. You aren’t necessarily wrong to say the Devils have holes, but trying to nickel and dime the youngest Hughes brother is not a very good idea. He is too important a piece to the Devils future, he’s already made huge strides in his overall game this season, and he’s showing he’s capable of playing 20+ minutes a night. He’s the #1 defenseman on the roster right now, with upside to be even better. That’s a contract where you want to set the terms on your own and not risk opening it up to any offer sheet shenanigans. That’s also a situation where its not worth alienating his older brother who also happens to be the best offensive weapon on the team. Bottom line, Luke needs to get paid this summer and the Devils shouldn’t try to take half-measures or cheap out in the process. Pay the man.

For argument’s sake, let’s say Luke gets $8.5M AAV on his next deal (which would match the AAV fellow Calder Trophy finalist Brock Faber got on his second contract). That $14.8M number drops to $6.3M with five roster spots to fill.

The cap might be fake, but it’s not fake enough where that’ll be enough space to work with if you actually want to improve this hockey team. And seeing as this hockey team is doing their best to try to blow a surefire playoff berth in one of the weakest Eastern Conferences in recent memory, they could use an upgrade or two.

Most of the pending UFAs on this Devils roster are players the Devils should be looking to upgrade on anyways. And you might be able to squeeze every last dollar by going cheap with backup goaltender (Nico Daws is signed for next year at $812,500) and forwards on ELC contracts (Arseni Gritsyuk’s salary on his 1-year ELC would be $925,000), but those options present some risk, like whether or not you can trust them to contribute on the NHL roster. The Devils could also save a little money against the cap if they bury Kurtis MacDermid in the AHL and replace him with a minimum salary player. But the Devils could have also done that this year as well when they were accruing cap space for the deadline trades they didn’t make. They chose not to do that and keep their otherwise useless enforcer around.

Gerald wrote last week about how the Devils need to purge some forwards from the roster, either at or sometime after the deadline. And he’s right. There are several forwards who have got to go. Unfortunately, Fitzgerald didn’t do that at the deadline (nor did I really expect him to), so after will have to suffice.

Let’s take a look at who HAS to go, what other options they might have, and if one bigger ticket player is movable should the Devils decide to go in that direction.

It’s Time to Move On From Erik Haula and Ondrej Palat​

Erik Haula has one more goal in his last 29 games than you or I have. That is a problem.

Haula has been a fine member of the supporting cast since he came to the Devils via trade prior to the 2022-23 season. He was rewarded after that season with a three-year deal worth $3.15M AAV. Since then, it’s been a mixed bag. He was injured for stretches last year, he’s been injured this year, we have no idea if that injury is still hampering him, he has the prolonged stretch of zero production that I just mentioned, and he turns 34 later this month. The bottom line is you simply can’t be that unproductive for that long and continue to keep your spot in the lineup. Not if you’re running a team that is serious about winning.

Meanwhile, much has been written about Ondrej Palat since he signed a five-year deal worth $6M AAV in the summer of 2022. As we’re closing in on the end of the third year of that deal, Palat has a grand total of 32 goals and 47 assists in 183 games with New Jersey.

Even acknowledging that there is some amount of value attached to Palat that is less tangible than his counting stats....things like leadership, “rings in the room”, and playing the game the right way....this is a hard cap league. $6M annually is a lot to pay for intangibles, and those intangibles aren’t helping the Devils in the playoffs if the rest of the player’s body of work is mid at best in the regular season to the point where the Devils can’t get there. Frankly, its too much money if he is not as productive as he was for most of his career in Tampa Bay. Add in that most of that production came this year when he was stapled to a line with Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt and it raises the question if he’s capable of producing at all playing further down the lineup away from them. Not that Palat’s 25 points in 63 games this season is anything to write home about, but the answer to that question is “probably not” for the soon-to-be 34 year old.

Finding a way to shed both Palat and Haula’s cap hits in their entirety would save the Devils $9.15M AAV in cap space. The question is whether or not the Devils can find a taker for one or both.

Haula currently has a full no-trade clause, but that becomes a 6-team no trade list on July 1st. His base salary is also a little lower at $2.4M with no signing bonuses attached. I’m not saying the Devils would get a haul for Haula, but the Devils should theoretically be able to find someone who would want him and they might be content to simply take “future considerations” for him. The Radek Faksa trade from Dallas to St. Louis this past offseason would be a comparable deal.

Palat could be a little trickier as he has the extra year on his deal, a larger AAV, and he has a NMC in addition to a 10-team trade list starting on July 1st. Palat has a little more say in the process, and even if Tom Fitzgerald (or whoever the Devils GM is) wanted to be as cutthroat as Chris Drury and threaten to put the player on waivers if he doesn’t waive his no-trade, he technically can’t do that as the NMC prevents that.

That said, this is a league where teams routinely bail out other teams on mistake contracts. Maybe this is another one of those deals where the Devils have to take no return, or they attach a draft pick to get someone to take Palat. Maybe one of the 200 Hockey Men around the league remember how key Palat was during those Lightning Cup runs, overrates his 200-foot game and leadership like Tom Fitzgerald did, and decides they have to have him. Maybe the Devils do have to retain a portion of Palat’s salary, which isn’t ideal but avoids a potential buyout down the road. Maybe the Devils have to take a less than ideal contract back to offset the cost somewhat.

Still, I have a hard time believing in a league where bad players and bad contracts get moved, the Devils can’t find someone to take Palat. In the last calendar year, Seth Jones, Jacob Trouba, Patrik Laine, Cody Ceci, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and Darcy Kuemper have gotten moved. Some to varying degrees, some for each other, some multiple times.

Yes, I’m ultimately fine with it if the Devils get no return for Haula and/or Palat. The return is the cap space, which is more valuable than whatever late round draft pick or nothingburger prospect they could get instead.

It would take some creativity, and certainly a lot more creativity than Tom Fitzgerald showed at the trade deadline, but it can be done. And it needs to be done.

Should the Devils Consider Moving Dawson Mercer in a “Hockey Trade”?​

The great philosopher Janet Jackson once said “What have you done for me lately”, and when it comes to Dawson Mercer, that very question needs to be asked.

Mercer’s first two years in the NHL were great given the level of expectations. 42 points as a 20-year old followed by a 27 goal, 29 assist season where he was doing things that put him on a short-list with Wayne Gretzky at their respective ages. All on the first two years of his ELC. That's the stuff dreams are made of.

Since then, though? Mercer took a step back in Year 3 with just 33 points, and while he might top that number this year, I think its fair to say the Devils aren’t getting what they thought they were getting when they signed him to a 3-year, $4M AAV bridge deal prior to this season.

Mercer is just 23 years old, so he could still have another level or two to gain in his development. But its not like the signs are there that there could be a breakout like there was with Jesper Bratt several years ago. At the same age, Bratt was putting the finishing touches on his first of four consecutive 70+ point seasons. Bratt will likely have several more 70+ point seasons before its all said and done. I have my doubts that Mercer will ever have one.

Add in the fact that Mercer doesn’t really drive play. Add in the fact that for a player I’m told has that dawg in him, he’s often floating out there just as much as anyone else. Add in the fact that he’s really more of a winger than a center, and he’s really more of a complimentary piece than a core piece. Mercer’s best ability might be his availability, which might be as fluky that he’s played 311 consecutive games and counting as Jack Hughes and his history of shoulder injuries is. Add it all together and it raises the question of whether or not a hockey trade for another similarish young player might be best for all parties involved.

What If They Trade Dougie Hamilton Instead of Simon Nemec or Seamus Casey?​

When the Devils locked up Kovacevic to his deal, I think most people looked at that like how I looked at it, saw the Devils have a RHD depth chart of Dougie Hamilton, Brett Pesce, and Johnathan Kovacevic at the NHL level, and thought this spelled the beginning of the end when it comes to the futures of Simon Nemec and Seamus Casey as Devils.

That’s certainly possible, and I was surprised when neither Nemec nor Casey were moved at the deadline to bring in a player who could help the Devils beyond this year. But what if the plan all along isn’t to move Nemec or Casey?

What if the plan is to trade Dougie Hamilton instead?

Trading Dougie Hamilton would be one way of opening up a bunch of cap space in a hurry. And while I’m not necessarily saying Dougie Hamilton is dead weight, I think now that we’re closing in on the end of Year 4 of his Devils career, we should take a look back and evaluate.

Dougie Hamilton has been as advertised from the blueline. He has had 160 points in 227 games since coming to New Jersey, and while it will always be an adventure with him defensively, for the most part, he has contributed more positive than negative since signing in New Jersey.

That said, he turns 32 this summer, he’s signed for 3 more years at a team-high $9M AAV, he’s missed significant chunks of three of his four seasons already in New Jersey, he’s not the greatest skater, he’s not the greatest defender, and the Devils have two well-regarded prospects waiting in the wings.

I do think trading Hamilton comes with risk. Moving him would likely leave Luke Hughes as the only defenseman on the roster you can count on as a source of offense. That would also assume that either Simon Nemec or Seamus Casey is ready to be a full-time NHL defenseman. Nemec doesn’t quite look the part as he has been inconsistent at best and drawn the ire of Sheldon Keefe, and Casey is already back in Utica with Dennis Cholowski taking his spot on the NHL roster. As I mentioned earlier, that should tell you all you need to know in regards to whether or not the Devils think Nemec or Casey are NHL-ready.

That said, there are workarounds. The Devils could move Hamilton via trade (more on that in a bit) and bring in another Johnathan Kovacevic-type on a cheap, short-term deal and put the onus on Nemec to beat that player and win the job, similar to what Kovacevic did with him. That unnamed defenseman might cost a little something. He shouldn’t cost $9M though, and the Devils could turn around and use that $9M to address a few holes.

How movable is Hamilton though? The answer is....somewhat.

Hamilton has three years and $25.2M in money owed to him remaining on his deal. $10.55M of that is in a signing bonus that is due on July 1st, 2025 (he has a base salary of $1M next season).

If Devils ownership was willing to write that big check only for Hamilton to play elsewhere, would that interest other teams in trading for him? Especially if there are teams out there that have a whole bunch of cap space at their disposal? It might be a $9M AAV through 2027-28, but its only $14.65M in real dollars at that point.

Hamilton can block trades to all but 10 teams so he has a say in the matter, but it also wasn’t too long ago that Hamilton chose to come to New Jersey despite them being a perennial rebuilding team. That doesn’t necessarily mean he will or won’t leave New Jersey willingly, but if he were to be presented with an opportunity and it was clear the Devils wanted to go in a different direction, would he take it?

I don’t know the answer to these questions. The simplest answer might be that Dougie is signed for next year, the Devils don’t want to pay that money for him to play elsewhere, the Devils need what he contributes offensively, and Dougie is the least of their problems at the moment anyways. I wouldn’t disagree with any of that. But it is something to consider as we’re entering the final years of the Hamilton contract.

Final Thoughts​

I didn’t write this article to point out how bleak the Devils situation is, either on the ice or on a spreadsheet. I don’t believe its a bleak situation.

I do believe that the Devils need a better supporting cast around their core players though, and I do believe that after a summer where Tom Fitzgerald spent big to fix the goaltending, defense, and make the team tougher to play again, the priority now needs to shift towards building better center depth and finding a scoring winger or two who can put the puck in the back of the net so the offense isn’t totally reliant upon Jack Hughes.

Assuming Luke Hughes is correctly given the bag this summer, that roughly $6.3M remaining isn’t going to be enough to add anything other than minimum salary players to round out the lineup. And while the Devils may wind up signing prospects like Lenni Hameenaho or Arseni Gritsyuk to ELCs, I’d be careful about anointing either as a savior when they have yet to prove they’re NHL players.

If the Devils remain status quo, their options are really limited due to the lack of cap space, which is why I believe it is a must that the Devils find a way to move on from both Erik Haula and Ondrej Palat this summer. I also don’t think its quite enough to go the buyout route or retain salary via trade either. They really need to find a way to purge both players (or more importantly, their AAVs) off of the roster entirely.

Doing so would put the Devils closer to $15M in cap space and better position the Devils to be a potential player for a center or winger. I’d prefer the Devils explore the trade route and find someone who is already under contract at a reasonable number rather than pay bloated UFA prices in a rising cap environment, but the point is that they’ll have more options and flexibility to do what they need to do. Moving on from Haula and Palat is a no-brainer in that respect. The Devils don’t necessarily need to move Mercer because of cap reasons but they might want to consider it if they feel he has plateaued in terms of his development or if they simply want to shake up the mix in the room and in their middle six. And if they really want to open the floodgates, they could consider shopping Hamilton around and finding a way to get his $9M AAV off of the books.

By the way, I didn’t just pick these players at random. According to Dom Luszczyszyn’s player cards at The Athletic, Palat, Haula, and Hamilton are providing the Devils -$8M in surplus value relative to their salaries (Mercer is a +$0.3M AAV value). Add in a Brenden Dillon and that number sinks to -$10M. In terms of whether or not these players are worth what they’re being paid, the answer is “not really”.

That’s not to say there’s not other dead weight on the roster that probably needs to be moved, but now we’re talking about an ineffective fourth line that is mostly pending UFAs like Curtis Lazar and Nate Bastian, a declining middle six scoring winger in Tomas Tatar, and an enforcer in Kurtis MacDermid. The Devils should definitely consider moving on from all of those players as well and rebuild their fourth line from scratch. But when it comes to those players, we’re talking about minimal cap savings and swapping them out for other bottom six players with similar salaries (and likely, similarly flawed players as well).

That’s how I view the Devils situation in regards to the cap in future years. Perhaps you view things differently. Please feel free to leave a comment below, and thanks for reading.

(stats referenced in this article to not include the game against Columbus on March 11, 2025)

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2...evils-need-to-cut-the-dead-weight-this-summer

 

[New Jersey Devils]

The New Jersey Devils Could Still be a Playoff Team Without Jack Hughes

Photo by Rich Graessle/NHLI via Getty Images

When Devils center Jack Hughes went down, that was supposed to be it for the season. The last pair of games however has inspired hope that the team could still make the playoffs.

Hope is a dangerous little thing. New Jersey Devils fans are being reminded of this after the team's play this past week. The season was already on life support since the turn of the calendar year, and Jack Hughes' injury seemingly spelled the end. Add in a questionable trade deadline by Tom Fitzgerald (or Soft Tom as John is now referring to him) and an awful loss to Winnipeg, and it seemed it was time to throw in the towel.

Yet the Devils would turn the next two games in their favor. A 3-1 win over the fading Second Rate Rivals was followed up with a more impressive 5-3 win over the surging Columbus Blue Jackets. Most of the players who have been called out by fans and pundits alike put up at least one point. New Devil Cody Glass came out looking like one of the pieces the team need to solidify the Bottom Six all along. Most importantly, the Devils have themselves a slight bit of breathing room in the standings.

I'm not going to say that either victory was perfect, or even convincing. There were some solid performances, but also present were some of the mistakes that have been present most of the season. Yet in spite of those mistakes, and in spite of Jacob Markstrom still not looking like pre-injury Jacob Markstrom, the Devils found ways to win. That has not been the trend this season and was a refreshing difference to watch.

If the Devils can continue to find ways to do this, especially against the many non-playoff and bubble teams left in their schedule, then they should be in. There's still some hiccups along the way (such as tonight's game against Edmonton) but every NHL team has scheduled with opponents of varying difficulty. The Devils are just fortunate that their schedule in terms of opponents' records is mostly getting easier. And this is why the team still could qualify for the postseason even without Jack.

The flaws of the 2024-25 Devils are apparent 66 games in. A team that already struggles to score losing its most dynamic forward is a recipe for failure. Yet somehow in the past pair of games, despite no Hughes and supplemental scoring not really being addressed at the deadline, the Devils, as I said before, have won. They've maintained their spot as third in the Metro. They increased their point buffer over the teams trailing them. They did the things that good teams, playoff teams are supposed to do.

Quite honestly, even without Jack, this team needs to be a playoff team. Regardless of how they perform in the playoffs, this group needs to get back there to show the fans and themselves that this core is moving things in the right direction. Yes, the supporting cast needs adjusting, but a few more playoff games for Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier, Luke Hughes and anyone else you'd like to include as part of the core would be good experience. Making the playoffs can help grow that hunger for more success in the future. And who knows, maybe this group has it in them to make a run. Once you're in the playoffs, anything can happen.

Now maybe this isn’t the outcome you want if you’re not a fan of current management. I can understand that perspective, especially after last Friday. However, I also believe that making the playoffs is better for the team than missing out. So the desire to get playoff experience outweighs the desire of (another) front office turnover in my eyes.

The New Jersey Devils are still alive in the chase for the playoffs, even without Jack Hughes. Now they need to go out and secure their spot, for Jack, for the fans and for the future success of this franchise.

What are your thoughts on the Devils chances to make the playoffs? Do you still see the loss of Jack as too much to overcome? Do you think the team will make it? Would making the playoffs help to bolster this Devils team's confidence in future seasons? Leave any and all comments below and thanks as always for reading!

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2...d-still-be-a-playoff-team-without-jack-hughes

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Bratt, Allen, and Devils Stun Oilers in 3-2 Comeback Victory

The Oilers were frantic, but the Devils shut it down late in the third. | Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

Without Dougie Hamilton, Jack Hughes, and Jonas Siegenthaler, the Devils faced one of their biggest tests in the Edmonton Oilers tonight. Their defense held strong, and they came through in the third period to take the two points in a nationally-broadcast game.

First Period​

The New Jersey Devils had the first big chance of the game against the Edmonton Oilers. Stefan Noesen stole the puck from Leon Draisaitl and skated off on a rush. He passed across to Timo Meier, but the pass ended up in Meier’s skates, and Meier’s pass to Hischier led to a big save by Stuart Skinner, with Nico crashing into the goal as Edmonton swept the rebound away. The Devils had much better pressure in the first five minutes, but Draisaitl finally got Edmonton a chance when he snuck in on the defense and had a shot right in on Jake Allen — he was stopped, and the Devils went back on the attack on the following shift.

The Oilers took a few more minutes to finally pin a line in the defensive zone, with the fourth liners facing down a few shot attempts. But this possession came to an end when Curtis Lazar intercepted a puck going from below the goal line to the slot, and he sent the puck down the ice for a line change. But after he did so, Adam Henrique caught the Devils sleeping, springing Vasily Podkolzin for a chance on Allen, which was stopped. The Oilers’ third line then had a bit of possession themselves, but no chance came as good as the one Henrique initially set up.

The Devils went to the power play with 10:15 to go in the period when Darnell Nurse sent Dawson Mercer flying as Mercer cut across for a shot on goal. The Devils did not have an outstanding attack on the first wave, as the Oilers did not allow them to string too much puck movement together. The Devils went down to 0-for-1 on the power play, and Jake Allen made a huge save on Evan Bouchard on the rush after play returned to five-on-five. But play did not stay at even strength for long. After Nate Bastian threw a reverse hit along the boards, the Devils were about to counterattack, and Max Jones wrapped his arm around and took him to the ice, sending the Devils back to the power play with 6:38 to play in the first. Stuart Skinner had to stop shots from Hischier and Tatar on this power play, but the Oilers came up with timely enough blocked shots to keep the Devils at bay for the two minutes.

After Johnny Kovacevic fell in the corner of the defensive zone, Jake Allen had to a big stop on Connor McDavid and Zack Hyman in front. McDavid looked for a penalty as Bastian stuck out his free arm to shield the puck for the counterattack, but he got no such call. The Devils kept pushing back on the Edmonton rushes, and Hischier was denied by Skinner when he had a partial two-on-one with Erik Haula. On the other end, though, Evan Bouchard panged the puck off the outside of the post with a minute and a half left in the period. Thankfully, Darnell Nurse fumbled the puck at the Edmonton blueline in the final minute when the McDavid line had the Devils more or less pinned, and the last chance of the period came on a Corey Perry one-timer that went well wide, before Johnny Kovacevic intercepted a pass to the high slot, lifting the puck away to send the teams to the locker room scoreless.

Second Period​

Tomas Tatar took a two minute interference penalty a bit over a minute into the period when Tatar picked Draisaitl, sending the Oilers to the power play. Draisaitil tried to score with a sharp-angle flip early, but missed his target. Jesper Bratt cleared the puck 35 seconds into the kill, allowing the Devils to change. The Oilers kept their firepower on the ice, and Dawson Mercer chopped the puck out of play after Jake Allen poked a low pass to the boards. Mercer cleared off the faceoff win by Hischier, forcing Edmonto behind their own net to reset. The Oilers’ top forwards stayed on with some of their second unit, but the Devils did not allow any chances for them. With Tatar coming out of the box, Nico Hischier led the Devils on a rush. Luke Hughes came up from behind and shot low on Skinner, but he was denied. Darnell Nurse blocked the rebound shot that came off Hischier’s stick, as well.

The Devils were rewarded for their hard work. Off a faceoff win by Cody Glass, Erik Haula established the front of the net on two Oilers, and Brett Pesce came in to bury the rebound of a shot by Bratt! The Devils took a 1-0 lead just four minutes into the period. Stefan Noesen tried to make it two less than a minute later, but his poke of the centering feed from Hischier was denied by Skinner.

After he stopped a tough point shot through a Cody Glass screen, Stuart Skinner made the save of the game on Erik Haula. Jesper Bratt had the puck poked ahead to him by a diving Brenden Dillon after Allen was taken down by Bouchard. Bratt went up on a two-on-one with Haula, executing the pass perfectly — but, unfortunately for the Devils and Haula, Skinner sprawled right to keep the score at Devils at one. The Oilers came back down the ice and put pressure on the Devils. Just a minute later, on a short rush, Leon Draisaitl found the opening under Jake Allen’s arm to tie the game.

Luke Hughes, looking at Cody Glass amidst a line change, fired a puck right to the Oilers. The Oilers started up the ice, but the officials blew play dead. They had seven men on the ice, and the Devils went back to the power play. The Devils had to go back to their own end to get the puck early, and Luke Hughes lost the re-entry, sending them back again a few more times as the first unit began to skate without speed — and Hughes lost it again in the offensive zone. The second unit began changing on, and Hischier and Noesen set up Ondrej Palat as Luke caught Edmonton sleeping with a stretch pass. Palat almost had it off the one-touch feed from Noesen, but Skinner barely knocked it away.

Brian Dumoulin almost had a rebound goal with under five minutes to play in the second, but he sailed the puck over Skinner’s shoulder. Hischier stayed for the following fraceoff after creating the rebound, but he lost the draw, and the Devils iced the puck. That line almost got pinned by the McDavid line, but they averted danger and kept the game tied.

Third Period​

The Edmonton Oilers had the better of the first few minutes of the final frame. Brett Pesce knocked a pass from behind the net to McDavid that went through Allen’s legs as the Devils’ goalie was out of the crease, preventing a dangerous chance. Later, Jeff Skinner looked to have a wide-open chance right in front that he just could not settle down in time to shoot. Kasperi Kapanen was later stopped by Allen’s glove on the rush, and Kapanen went crashing into the boards. Of course, the one Allen finally let through was a point shot by Evan Bouchard, after the first line had blocked a few shots. The Oilers took a 2-1 lead a bit over four minutes into the period.

Jesper Bratt joined forced with Nico Hischier and Timo Meier for a shift, and they finally got the space they were looking for. Bratt took the puck high as Hischier and Meier clogged the low slot, and the puck redirected past Skinner to tie the game! The Devils were only down for a few minutes.

The Devils got the memo: work the puck high and put bodies by the net. Hischier set another, much tighter, screen on Stuart Skinner, and Jesper Bratt went up the wall to set up a Simon Nemec blast. He put it right past Skinner, who was blinded the whole way! The Devils went back up, 3-2, with still over half the period to play. The Devils did not get many more chances over the next several minutes, but they did play solid enough defense to prevent Edmonton from threatening to tie the game again.

Jesper Bratt came up big for the Devils on one such defensive shift, as Evan Bouchard had the Devils scrambling with a few shots and attempts with the McDavid line on the ice. Bratt fought for the puck and cleared the zone, avoiding the icing and allowing a line change. With four minutes and change to play, Nico Hischier knocked Leon Draisaitl to the ice, leading to some Oilers fans booing for an uncalled penalty, but the referees deemed Draisaitl to be going down too easily. The Devils were thus able to get the McDavid line back off the ice until the three-minute mark.

Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images
I thought this was going to be 4-2.

After muscling the puck away in the defensive zone, Cody Glass had a three-on-two with two and a half minutes to play. Glass took a shot on goal with Noesen crashing, and he followed the rebound. Glass had the puck at the side of the net with Skinner down, but he could not lift it over Skinner’s pad, and the Devils were unable to extend the lead. After a line change and a delayed whistle for the Devils playing the puck with a high stick, the Oilers got the net empty with under two minutes to play off an end-to-end McDavid rush that was met at the end by Brian Dumoulin, forcing Edmonton to set up. After some cycling by Edmonton, Dawson Mercer blocked a shot to create a chance for Ondrej Palat to ice the game. Palat fanned on the shot with over a minute to play.

The Devils, however, did a great job of limiting Edmonton’s ability to transition, killing a lot of the remaining time on the clock. With one final hope, Leon Draisaitl tried to ram the puck into their offensive zone with 20 seconds to play, but Nico Hischier took the brunt of his speed to separate him from the puck. Nico got back up and blocked a point shot, and the Devils worked the puck into the corner to seal the 3-2 victory!

The Game Stats: The NHL.com Game Summary | The NHL.com Event Summary | The NHL.com Play by Play Log | The NHL.com Shot Summary | The Natural Stat Trick Game Stats

It’s a Trap​

Without very much hope of replacing the production of Jack Hughes and Dougie Hamilton, Sheldon Keefe has decided to push his team in a much more defensive direction. In the first two periods, the New Jersey Devils did an amazing job of limiting the Oilers’ zone entries, as their game was built off of protecting the neutral zone. As the Oilers tried to go off on the rush, they left themselves vulnerable to a lot of Devils counterattacks. Unfortunately, they still do not have the scoring talent in the lineup to utilize many of these chances, but they had the better of the first 40 minutes.

After that, it got nervewracking. The Oilers found their weak spots and exploited them thoroughly to begin the third period, and they were lucky to keep the Oilers at two goals. Jake Allen played a huge role there, facing 19 shots on goal in the third after only seeing 14 in the first two periods. Allen finished with 1.82 goals saved above expected, and that is no small feat against the Edmonton Oilers.

In any case, the Devils have now won three straight games. They’re much closer to exiting that upper edge-of-the-bubble purgatorial state and setting themselves up for a top-three finish in the Metropolitan. At 36-25-6, they have 78 points. That’s eight up on Columbus and the Rangers, while they’re only four points beind Carolina. They just need to remember that, while this defensive structure is great, they need to be ready for when teams have tons of firepower or simply figure them out in a third period. Defense can only help you stay alive in a game, but finishers win them.

Bratt and Nico​

I liked the top line featuring Meier and Noesen on the wings again tonight, but the Devils only took the game because of how well the offense worked in the short time Bratt was in Noesen’s spot. Like most of the team, that third period first line gave up a ton of chances, but they scored on their only two shots. Prior to having Noesen swapped out, though, the top line seemed to have bad luck on defense despite generally putting a lot of good work in against Connor McDavid. However, the reason I was glad Keefe made that change was how tight the game was being played by those lines. Edmonton was all over the puck because of the down-low style Hischier, Noesen, and Meier like to play. When Bratt came in at wing there, it opened up lanes, and both Bratt and Nemec took advantage to give the team the chance to win the game. Nico, of course, was in the trenches in those final minutes, taking some physical punishment to help seal it up.

I am glad Sheldon Keefe made this specific adjustment in the middle of the third period, because this is an area where he has struggled in comparison to his predecessor in Lindy Ruff. The Devils did a good enough job of playing tight hockey in the first 40 minutes, but once they went down, they needed a jolt to score. Given their limited track record in pulling off comebacks, this stood out tonight.

Nemo Found​

Sometimes, all you need to get back on your game is to play against the most offensively threatening team in the league after a couple nights in the press box. Simon Nemec was definitely sheltered tonight, but he got on the board with a game-winning goal and a team-leading 77.07 xGF%. He was one of only four Devils to have an xGF% over 50, alongside Dillon, Haula, and Glass. Again, Keefe did a great job of putting Nemec into a place where he can succeed by playing minutes with Brenden Dillon against opposing bottom sixers.

Your Thoughts​

What did you think of tonight’s game? How much did you believe they would win when Bouchard scored? What did you think of Allen’s game tonight? How much more comfortable are you with the state of the team than a week ago? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2...ictory-hischier-nemec-keefe-mcdavid-draisaitl

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Jesper Bratt: The New Jersey Devils’ Main Goal Supplier

The main assist man of the Devils is one of the best at it in the NHL this season. | Photo by Rich Graessle/NHLI via Getty Images

Back in November, I wrote that Jesper Bratt was a top offensive winger in the NHL. He still is as he continues to be one of the league’s leaders in assists this season. This post goes into more detail about Bratt’s role in terms supplying goals - especially now with Jack Hughes and Dougie Hamilton injured.

Assists are crucial in hockey because not many goals happen without some kind of support from a teammate. A one-timer needs someone to feed the shooter the puck. The blast from the point usually needs someone to get the puck to the point. Even a breakaway or an odd-man rush has someone create it with a pass. Do not devalue the assist in a sport where they are common. Enough to a point where two assists can be credited for a goal. It absolutely should not be devalued by the People Who Matter when it comes to Jesper Bratt. He has been the team’s main supplier of goals in this season. A role that takes on more, not less, importance with the loss of The Big Deal to injury.

Jesper Bratt is no stranger to being a major producer for the Devils. He has achieved a fourth-straight season of 70 points or more already. He is on pace for breaking the 80-point plateau easily with 73 points. It is likely he will set a new career high in points with this season. He just set one in assists. Last season, he had 56 in 82 games. After last night’s game, he has 57 assists. There are 17 games left to play and the franchise record is Scott Stevens' 60. Does he best it? I say he does it. It may even happen before the end of next week.

To put that in perspective, here is a list of NHL players with more than 55 assists as of March 12, 2025: Nathan MacKinnon (75), Nikita Kucherov (64), Mitch Marner (59), Connor McDavid (58), and Jack Eichel (58). Bratt is definitely still one of the top offensive wingers in the league. That was true in November and it is true now in mid-March. After all, only five of the best players on the entire planet have more assists than Bratt. Let us detail how he has done it and what could happen next.

Who Bratt Has Assisted​

The easy answer is The Big Deal and it is the correct answer per Natural Stat Trick. Of Bratt’s 55 assists (last night’s game isnt included from here on out), 18 were for goals by Jack Hughes. He ended his season with 27 so two-thirds of #86’s goals had a #63 on the scoresheet. The second most common player he has helped is one of his common teammates on the team’s primary power play unit: Nico Hischier. He has 10 - the tenth was in the 5-3 win over Columbus - out of the 27 Hischier has scored. Seven of those ten were on the power play. The PP1 connection between the two has been very functional.

From then on, it gets a bit more mixed. Bratt’s other common linemate in 5-on-5 play until the past few weeks has been Ondrej Palat. He has set up seven of Palat’s 13 goals. Going back to a PP1 connection, six of Stefan Noesen’s 19 goals had an assist from Bratt. All but one were on the power play. Another PP1 connection with Dougie Hamilton has born some fruit; five of Hamilton’s nine goals have had an assist from Bratt. The mix gets smaller from then on. Just three assists each with Luke Hughes (6 goals) and Timo Meier (18 goals) and one assist on a goal each by Brett Pesce (2 goals), Seamus Casey (4 goals), and Paul Cotter (14 goals).

That takes care of who Bratt set up for goals. What about whom else he has had assists with? Again, the clear leaders were The Big Deal (14 assists with) and Hamilton (10) - who are both unavailable. Hischier leads a plurality with five followed by Luke Hughes with four. Only three each with Noesen, Pesce, and Meier, two with Palat, and one each by Cotter, Jonathan Kovacevic, Brenden Dillon, and newcomer Cody Glass. Bratt may have set up a lot of scores but there are no immediate heir apparents with Jack Hughes and Hamilton being out.

What about the people who set up Bratt for his 18 goals? Again, the most common assisters for his goals were The Big Deal with eight and Hamilton with six. Palat and Dillon were the only ones to put up more than two assists on Bratt’s goals this season and they had three and two, respectively. The field of one assist each is claimed by Kovacevic, Glass, Hischier, Noesen, and Tomas Tatar.

This kind of look at Bratt’s assists show which players he has been most productive with. That it was with two currently injured and important players is sobering given how much Bratt has produced. The remainder - outside of a power play - does not immediately show who else he can set up.

It is telling that he has had more than twice as many assists with The Big Deal instead of his other linemate in Palat. It is also a sign of how productive that primary power play unit is as Bratt has at least four assists with four other members of that unit (and 2 power play assists with Palat). It is also proof that a Bratt-Meier connection may not be so productive despite one being a set-up guy (Bratt) and one being a shooter (Meier). The 2 total goals in 209 minutes together also show that. With The Big Deal out for the remainder of the season, Sheldon Keefe and his staff will need to find some other combinations to yield results. As well as to keep most of that primary power play unit together in light of Hughes and Hamilton being out. Bratt did put up a three-point night against Columbus plus a two-assist night in Dallas, so its not like he went dark after the injury to the Big Deal. But this is something Keefe will need to figure out as soon as possible.

But the Goals? ​

Bratt only having 18 goals seems small for someone being paid as much as him. Which is $9 million for this season. After all, Timo Meier also only has 18 goals as of Wednesday night and he has been creamed in the comments by the People Who Matter for not scoring enough. The difference is that, again, Bratt has been involved with the direct creation of 55 other goals. Meier has not with only 24 assists to his name. How can this be?

Simply put, Bratt has not been as prolific of a shooter as he was last season. Last season, Bratt had 248 shots on net in 82 games. That is an average of 3.02 shots per game. This season, he has 145 in 66 games prior to last night’s game. That is an average of approximately 2.2 shots per game. That is stark difference as that one extra shot per game could make a difference. It could even be a goal.

It is not just the shots on net that went down from last season. His whole shot volume has went down. Per Natural Stat Trick, his 448 attempts (5.46 per game) yielded 28.59 expected goals in 2023-24. He even averaged 1.45 high danger attempts per game. This season, he has 308 attempts in 66 games for an average of 4.66 per game - nearly a drop of one whole attempt. His high danger attempts per game fell to 1.06 for this season. This is not to say that his attempts have been bad. An expected goal total of 21.86 from it is good. It is also fifth on the team and not likely going to reach 28 again given the fewer number of attempts overall. This is somewhat unfortunate because Bratt’s shooting percentage actually improved from last season. He shot at 10.9% last season. He is at 12.4% for this season. Maybe he has better fortune in 2024-25 but it is not likely going to take him to 27 goals again (last season’s goal total) unless he gets on a massive heater.

And with so much ice time with the Big Deal and a strong power play unit, this was fine. Again, 55 assists is an elite amount for this season. Helping to create goals helps the New Jersey Devils a lot. But it did appear to come at a cost of shooting less and deferring more than he did last season. With Hughes and Hamilton out, will Bratt shoot more? Maybe. In the four games since The Big Deal was hurt (Hamilton was hurt in the first period in Dallas), Bratt put up two, one, four, and one shots on net respectively. Eight in four games is an average of two shots - more consistent with his season so far. Same with his shooting attempts. Bratt put up 18 in his last four games for an average of 4.5 per game. Again, that is close to what he has already been doing this season. Early signs show that what you have seen from Bratt this season is what you are going to continue to see.

Which may be fine. Once again, he has been an elite supplier of goals this season.

The On-Ice Rates Are Still Offensively Good​

Also adding to the fine-ness is that the Devils’ offense has been prolific with Bratt on the ice. When Bratt has taken a shift in 5-on-5 play this season, the Devils have (ranks are among Devils with at least 300 minutes of ice time):

• Generated 68.06 CF/60, 3rd on the Devils
• Generated 29.77 SF/60, 5th on the Devils
• Generated 2.99 xGF/60, 4th on the Devils
• Generated 3.21 GF/60, 2nd on the Devils

The Devils ahead of Bratt include the likes of The Big Deal and Meier except in shots, where the rates are higher with Hischier and Hamilton plus The Big Deal and Meier. In other words, the team’s top players. For what it is worth, when Bratt takes a shift, the Devils out-attempt, out-shoot, and out-score their opponents. Even if Bratt was just riding with Hughes or Hamilton, he was not dragging the rates of offense down. Something the Devils have had way too much of on this roster. At a minimum, we have to conclude that Bratt has been a support. We know he has been more involved than that. The points show that. The run of play shows that. The fact that Ondrej Palat - who has played a lot of this season with Hughes and Bratt - does not have rates this good shows what a passenger would look like on a top line. Bratt has far superior on-ice rates for offense than Palat. We know Bratt has been more than just someone out there.

So He’s Been Good, So Productive, So What?​

Well, this is an appreciate post following up on what I wrote about the player back in November. No, he did not sustain being a top offensive player in the NHL but he has sustained being one of the most productive wingers. He has continued to be a source of points on a team bereft of them without Hughes or Hischier this season. With Hughes out along with Hamilton, there will be more pressure of Bratt to keep being as productive as he has been.

The good news is that is very much possible - and even probable. He may not shoot the puck more, but that he can still rack up multi-point nights without #86 or #7 is very encouraging. It may look odd to see him line up with Cody Glass and Erik Haula as he did against Columbus on Tuesday. But absent any other known productive combinations, Keefe and his staff will mix and match until they find something that works over the next 16 games. Besides, that odd-looking combo did not keep Bratt from putting up a goal and two assists to remain among the top scorers in the NHL. Bratt will continue to be the team’s major supplier.

Which, as a final point, I have to write in earnest: we all need to hope he does not get hurt. Your mileage may vary as to whether he would be the most valuable Devil after The Big Deal (I think it’s Hischier but it is close). But losing Bratt in anything more than a minor capacity would be absolutely crushing for an offense that has been so top-heavy for most of this season. We should appreciate and we should also hope he remains to be OK. The good news is that Bratt has yet to miss a game since the 2021-22 season. His ironman streak would stand out if it were not for Dawson Mercer. All the same, Bratt is an important part of the team. An importance now magnified with Hughes and Hamilton out, especially on offense. After all, he has been the Devils’ main supplier.

What do you make of Bratt’s season so far? With The Big Deal out for the season, is Bratt more important to the team than before? Or is his role and value about the same? What do you expect Bratt to do for the next 16 games? Will he continue to be one of the NHL’s leaders in assists? Please leave your answers and other thoughts about Bratt, his season so far, and what’s to come this season.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2...sts-top-offensive-winger-we-miss-the-big-deal

 

[New Jersey Devils]

DitD & Open Post - 3/14/25: A Streak Edition

New Jersey Devils goaltender Jake Allen (34), center Nico Hischier (13), and right wing Timo Meier (28) celebrate the Devils win over the Edmonton Oilers at Prudential Center. | Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

New Jersey Devils & Related Hockey Links for 3/14/25

Here are your links for today:

Devils Links​

Jesper Bratt had a goal and two assists, and Simon Nemec scored the game-winning goal Thursday night as the Devils beat the Oilers 3-2. The Devils have won three in a row for the first time since late December. [Devils NHL]

Dougie won’t return in the regular season:

#NEWS: Dougie Hamilton will miss the remainder of the regular season.

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 13, 2025​

“The New Jersey Devils announced today their collaboration with former Devils teammates Brian Boyle and Cory Schneider for their One-Time All Stars podcast. The two recently retired New Jersey Devils players are getting together to chat all things hockey, off-ice fun, their journey as parents in youth sports, never-heard-before stories and compelling interviews for old and new listeners alike. The first episode on Devils platforms, featuring trade deadline coverage, favorite memories of playing in New Jersey, and much more, will air on March 19 on newjerseydevils.com/podcast.” [Devils NHL]

“You can’t blame the Devils for wanting to lock up Kovacevic, but it has implications. What happens to Šimon Nemec and Seamus Casey? How much risk is there in re-signing Kovacevic? What about the salary cap for the upcoming offseason? Let’s get into the big picture.” [Devils on the Rush ($)]

A GoFundMe page here for the families of a couple killed in a car crash after Friday’s game against the Jets: [GoFundMe] [Asbury Park Press]

It’s a cold world out there:

The GM of the Utica Comets, Dan MacKinnon, traded his son Will MacKinnon for Future Considerations…

Trading your son for Future Considerations is DIABOLICAL pic.twitter.com/wxYDB9mg8c

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) March 13, 2025​

Hockey Links​

An insane save from Linus Ullmark:

LINUS ULLMARK OH MY GOODNESS!!! pic.twitter.com/KXWTIC1eQf

— NHL (@NHL) March 14, 2025​

Two games for Connor Zary:

Calgary’s Connor Zary has been suspended for two games for elbowing against Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson. https://t.co/ciPdENqdjW

— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) March 13, 2025​

“The Blue Jackets were supposed to be one of the worst teams in the league and they might make the playoffs instead. Amazing is an understatement.” [The Athletic ($)]

Some discussion here around tweaking the NHL schedule, embellishment calls, signing deadlines and more: [TSN]

Feel free to discuss these and any other hockey-related stories in the comments below.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2025/3/14/24385488/devils-in-the-details-3-14-25-a-streak-edition

 

[New Jersey Devils]

2024-25 Gamethread #68: New Jersey Devils at Pittsburgh Penguins

More, please. | Photo by Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Welcome to the spotlight. The New Jersey Devils will be on ABC today as they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins this afternoon. Show up for this one, Devils. Talk about it here as it happens.

The New Jersey Devils are back on a national network. This time they are taking on the remnants of the previously contending Pittsburgh Penguins. Again, show up on time for this afternoon game.

The Time: 3:00 PM ET

The Broadcast: TV: ABC; Streaming: ESPN+; Audio: Devils Hockey Radio

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils at the Pittsburgh Penguins

The Song of the Afternoon: Pittsburgh usually means two words: Don Caballero. This is not gory or death metal or even skate punk. It is just about 11 minutes of greatness with not one, not two, but at least three fake endings. From their seminal album 2, this is “Repeat Defender.”

The Rules: The rules remain the same as the Devils are on ABC. Please keep your language clean (this means no swearing, don’t mask it, it’s not enough, no I don’t care what Tom Fitzgerald said), respect your fellow Devils fan with no personal attacks (play nice or you will not play here), no illegal streams (this means no asking, no hints, no nothing about it), and please keep your comments relevant to this game. Go Devils!

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2...ins-hischier-bratt-meier-crosby-malkin-letang