The New Jersey Devils added some depth to their lineup, and Wayne Simmonds in particular can impact the game in so many ways.
The New Jersey Devils won the draft lottery and the right to select first overall in the 2019 NHL Draft. Some people believed they would select Kaapo Kakko, but most of us knew they would select Jack Hughes with the pick. All the comparisons from scouts point to names like Patrick Kane and Johnny Gaudreau and sometimes even Connor McDavid comes up when talking about Hughes. This was a no brainer.
Then on July 1st, the Devils added Wayne Simmonds to the roster via free agency. He is a guy who’s best years are most likely behind him, but he might still add some value. It is a low risk/high reward move for the Devils since it’s only a one-year deal. It is a $5 million cap hit, but that is literally irrelevant because the Devils are barely over the cap floor now.
Simmonds might give little impact at 5 on 5, unless he does. The recent numbers suggest he will not. He has been bad at even strength over the last few years, but he might get an opportunity that helps those numbers. He might get the job of being on the right wing of Jack Hughes. This could be something that helps out Jack a lot.
Simmonds has been really good in his career at the net-mouth. He can bank in rebounds and tip pucks as good as anyone during his career. Hughes is a playmaker with good vision and playmaking ability. If he can hit the ground running once he hits NHL ice for the first time he might be able to find Simmonds in areas that Simmonds can get the puck in the net. This is something that Ray Shero might be hoping for if the coaching staff decides to give him that role.
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Wayne is also a good locker room/character guy. Those things can be overvalued sometimes, but in this case it might be something worth thinking about. This is a young team that hasn’t played a ton of NHL games. All the talent is there, but there needs to be growth. Simmonds can help out in that area. He is super fun to root for in that aspect as well. Hopefully, this shows us why he was so beloved for the big rivals in the Philadelphia Flyers.
Simmonds is also super tough, so opponents might think twice about messing with a little guy like Hughes. Jack is a small player and it will take some time for him to develop some man muscle as well. You are seeing it with Nico Hischier as well, once these guys have man muscle they will be even better but it is gonna take some time. With Simmonds in the fold, nobody will take shots at them without thinking twice.
Fighting and standing up for teammates has never been something that has escaped the game of Wayne Simmonds and it won’t as a member of the Devils either. Either way, having Wayne Simmonds could really impact Hughes’ first year in the NHL.