New Jersey Devils: Adam Henrique Will Return To 30 Goal Scorer

After a busy offseason for the New Jersey Devils, some of the existing players may be overlooked. Adam Henrique will use this offseason to return to his 30 goal form.

Outside of Cory Schneider, Adam Henrique may have been the most disappointing player on the New Jersey Devils. While some players definitely played worse (looking at you, Ben Lovejoy), Henrique came into the season with bigger expectations. He was coming off his first 30 goal season, and was surrounded by better offensive talent.

Unfortunately, he was a shell of his 2014-15 self.

Two years ago, Henrique could score when the Devils needed it the most. He had eight game-winning goals, which tied him with the likes of Steven Stamkos and Alex Ovechkin, among others, for fourth in the NHL. He was playing out of his mind, and finished with his first 30 goal season.

Last season, he completely dropped off. He started off the season extremely slow, with just four goals in the first two months. After that, he really ramped up his efforts with five goals in December and four in January. Unfortunately, that’s where the Devils season as a whole fell off, and he fell with it.

Looking at Henrique’s numbers, his career is like a roller coast ride. One season he’s playing out of his mind, then he falls off when expectations are high. He came off a Calder Trophy finalist season to score just 16 points in the lockout-shortened season. Henrique came back with 25 goals in 2013-14. The next season he had 16 goals. His consistency just isn’t there, but if you take a look he should be up for another good season.

Henrique is just 27 years old. He should be right in the middle of his prime years right now. He has six seasons and a Stanley Cup Finals run under his belt. That run included two overtime, series-winning goals. One of those goals, the ever forgotten double-overtime goal against the Florida Panthers, shows some of his best hockey IQ as a rookie.

The Devils have made major upgrades up and down the offense. Adding Marcus Johansson, Brian Boyle and Nico Hischier, while only losing Beau Bennett, Mike Cammalleri and Devante Smith-Pelly will put this Devils team among the better top sixes in the league. That kind of pressure helps Henrique thrive. When it’s all on the line, he wants to be on the ice.

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He also heard what everyone was saying about him all season. His Twitter account may show him swimming with dolphins and waiving the start flag at Indy car races, but he hears the rumors. He knows fans pointed to him as a way to improve the defense. Some even called Henrique expendable. That kind of offseason will motivate a player like him.

What could be most important is his possible move to wing. The Devils are fluid with centers, so Henrique could easily move to left or right wing. He’s a much better offensive player when playing the wing because he can focus on his scoring. He doesn’t have to worry about faceoffs or positioning as much, and he can worry about lighting the lamp.

Will it be easy for Henrique to score 30 goals this season? Maybe not. He shot a ridiculous 20.1% in his only 30 goal season, a number that likely won’t happen again. We are hoping Henrique can take more, and better, shots. Having depth seemingly overnight on this offense will open up lanes for all the Devils players. It could be even better if Pavel Zacha and Miles Wood can find a consistency with their scoring. Henrique has all the tools to score 30 again, and surrounded by this offense this is the year for him to do it.