Andy Greene: F
Andy Greene was looking alright to start the season when he was finding some really good chemistry on the second line with Damon Severson. Whatever was budding between these two is now gone.
Greene is making mistake after mistake after mistake in the defensive zone. He’s given away the puck right in front of the net more times than I can count, and he puts Keith Kinkaid and Cory Schneider in a position to fail all the time.
I thought about giving Greene a slight upgrade because of his play on the penalty kill. He’s been decent there, and the Devils have been better than average on that unit, and that unit only. However, this is the captain we’re speaking about. The captain needs to be better on more than the three minutes per game he spends down a man. He’s failing as a defenseman. He’s a major problem, and the Devils coaches refuse to sit him for a game.
Jean-Sebastien Dea: F
This feels like a low blow, but here we are. Jean-Sebastien Dea was so bad on the Devils in November that now he’s in the minors… for the Pittsburgh Penguins. After the Devils claimed him in September, they tried to put him on waivers. The Penguins claimed him and put him back into their system.
Dea was quite good to start the year. He scored three goals in his first four games with the organization. In November, he had one game where he had two assists against his former team, then zero points in any other game. It just wasn’t acceptable, and it seemed like the Devils kept him in the lineup because they knew if they tried to send him to the minors that was the end of his career with the Devils.
It just didn’t work out. It was well worth the shot, but it didn’t work. Back to the drawing board for Ray Shero.
Stefan Noesen: F
What happened to Stefan Noesen? I wish I could tell you. He’s spent more times as the worst forward on the ice than he has as a player you want on your team. He’s been in and out of the owner’s box, as Hynes tries out other players.
Despite basically getting cut from the team, Jean-Sebastien Dea has more points than he does. His only goal came when the Devils were down three in the first period to the Tampa Bay Lightning. It ended up being another slaughter.
Noesen has regressed immensely. It looks like he’s the player the Anaheim Ducks gave up on. It’s way too early to give up on him as well, but he needs to figure out what is causing his issues.