New Jersey Devils: Veterans Need To Lead Team In Final Stretch
By Nick Villano
The New Jersey Devils are known for their young players leading the team, but in reality they are league average in age. It’s time for the veterans to lead this team to victory.
When looking at the New Jersey Devils statistics, there are a lot of impressive things. Last season, only four players scored more than 31 points. Kyle Palmieri and Taylor Hall tied for the team lead with 53 points. This season, five players already have 35 or more points. Hall is leading the way with 78 points. Sami Vatanen has 31 points if you count the points he scored with the Anaheim Ducks. The Devils top seven point producers are 26 years old or younger.
That shows the team relies a lot on players who, in NHL terms, haven’t proved a lot coming into this season. That all changed this season, and the Devils have been carried by their young players.
Here’s the thing about the NHL season, it’s really long.
Nico Hischier never played more than 57 games with one team in a season. He’s played 73 already this year. Jesper Bratt played 48 games for one team once, but this season he’s already at 69 games. Will Butcher played 67 games once, but averaged around 40 when playing with University of Denver. Miles Wood played 75 games last season between the AHL and NHL, and clearly tired out by the end of it.
These players just don’t have the jump they would have if they were used to the rigors of the NHL schedule. This is why the veterans need to carry this team if they are playoff bound.
It all starts with Travis Zajac and Andy Greene. They are the two most tenured players, playing all their seasons with the Devils. Zajac has 834 NHL games, while Greene has skated for 779. Those two players will be the ones who these young players look to when the season struggles start to hit.
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Ben Lovejoy is another player that others look up to. He’s been playing on a line with Butcher, who’s 10 years his junior. He needs to play his best hockey right now.
Brian Boyle has been the inspirational leader of the locker room. After hearing before the season that he would have to fight cancer, the entire team rallied around him. He’s been a great story off the ice, but it’s time for him to make things happen on the ice. Boyle had a few really close chances as of late, but he needs to be the finisher he was two months ago.
The Devils veterans aren’t the players in the headlines. Taylor Hall is the one getting most of the hype, and deservedly so. Hischier, Bratt, Butcher and others still barely old enough to drink are the players the media will talk about. That doesn’t matter. The veterans are the players that need to step up. The clutch goals and the great decision making must come from those that have been there before.