New Jersey Devils: Can Sami Vatanen Save John Moore?

The New Jersey Devils made the first major trade of the NHL season when they sent Adam Henrique and Joe Blandisi in exchange for Sami Vatanen. It seems like the player most affected by this move has been John Moore.

John Moore has been in purgatory for New Jersey Devils fans seemingly since he joined the team back in 2015. Prior to joining the Devils, he struggled to stay in the lineups for Columbus, Arizona and the New York Rangers. He seemed to find his fit in New Jersey, but fans still weren’t impressed.

Moore is most well known for his heroics in overtime. He’s scored two game-winners in the extra period this season. That gives him six goals since 3-on-3 overtime was implemented. That’s more than PK Subban, Erik Karlsson and every other NHL defenseman in the league.

That seems like it’s a blessing and a curse. Many fans joked that Moore’s place in the lineup was just in case the Devils went into overtime. He was really struggling as a part of the defense outside of overtime. He was getting caught too many times pinching, which caused a two-on-one for his pairing defenseman. Moore seemed out of place when in his own zone.

In comes Sami Vatanen. The former Anaheim Ducks defenseman came over in a trade for Adam Henrique, Joe Blandisi and a draft pick. Since he came over, it seemed like he was having trouble finding the right fit in a defensive partner. That changed when he was paired with John Moore.

The pair wasn’t perfect from the start, but head coach John Hynes has given the two a chance to gel. That move really worked out, as they’ve only gotten better together with time.

Those two were great together against the Detroit Red Wings. As Todd Correll with Hockey Buzz shows, the two were the best pairing on the ice during five-on-five play.

Moore is working to get himself another contract at the end of the season. Whether that’s with the Devils remains to be seen, but expect him to really tighten up his game towards the end of the season with a new contract on the line.

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Vatanen on the other hand has the pressure that he was traded for a fan favorite. Taking off the shock of being traded midseason, the Vatman settled into his role with the Devils. A lot of that has to do with getting a consistent linemate.

Vatanen and Moore really work well together. Their strengths and weaknesses mostly even off. Vatanen is great at playing back and taking in everything that’s happening on the ice. Moore is very good at taking passes from one side of the ice to the other.

This line could mean great things coming for the Devils. The team was a force on the penalty kill Wednesday night. If the defense can play this way for the rest of the season, who can stop this Devils team? The turnaround of the defense starts with lines that are finally gelling (and great play by Cory Schneider).