New Jersey Devils Add Brian Gibbons To Opening Night Roster
By Nick Villano
The New Jersey Devils released its final roster to start the season. One name was a huge surprise, and didn’t really make sense.
The New Jersey Devils are finally ready to start the 2017-18 season. On Tuesday, the team released its final roster.
There were some surprises. Jesper Bratt, who nobody had on the radar before the preseason, made the team outright. It could just be a nine-game tryout before he gets sent to juniors, but his play warranted a shot on this roster. John Hynes decided to keep eight defensemen on the roster, which is an interesting decision in itself. Will Butcher and Dalton Prout played their way onto the Opening Night roster.
Still, the biggest surprise from the announcement was Brian Gibbons making this roster.
Gibbons was literally on nobody’s radar to make the team. He spent last season with the Albany Devils, where he had 36 points in 72 games. In his career, he played 66 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins. At 29 years old, it seems like his career in hockey will be as a perennial minor leaguer.
He was chosen to make the team over Joseph Blandisi, John Quenneville and Nick Lappin. All three of them were able to play some time in the league last year over Gibbons.
Maybe Hynes needed a player who would be able to be a healthy scratch for days at a time and not let it affect him. Who knows how that kind of inconsistency could affect a young player like Quenneville. Gibbons is used to being that player.
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Still, what can he bring to this team?
It just seems odd to put a guy like Gibbons on the team when there are clearly more talented players in the pipeline.
There is one thing the Devils could be using GIbbons for; a bridge until Michael McLeod is ready. McLeod is hurt right now, but hasn’t been sent to juniors yet. He was at Devils practice on Wednesday watching from the sidelines. If the Devils really want him to spend the year in the NHL, then Gibbons could be a bridge while he’s recovering.
Besides that, it’s a confusing move. Gibbons seems like a team-first guy. Maybe the team wanted more veterans to help keep the kids in line on and off the ice. There is no way to know what the team was thinking until they tell us. Until then, let’s continue to speculate.