New Jersey Devils: Idea Of Running Eight Defensemen
The New Jersey Devils are almost certainly going to carry eight defensemen in 2019-20 and that might be a smart decision for the team as a whole.
The New Jersey Devils extended defenseman Connor Carrick with a two-year contract this week. It is a fair deal, but it pretty much guarantees that the Devils will carry eight defensemen unless they make a big trade. That is not a bad thing because this team had some problems with the back end last year and it is looking much better going into this upcoming season.
They added P.K. Subban via a trade with the Nashville Predators, and he will certainly be their top defenseman. Ty Smith was probably good enough to make the team out of camp last season, but the Devils waited and he is sure to make it this year. P.K. Subban, Ty Smith, Damon Severson, Andy Greene, Sami Vatanen, Will Butcher, Mirco Mueller, and Connor Carrick are the eight that make up the Devils defense.
So who of those eight will sit out when they can only dress six? It doesn’t matter. It is a good problem to have. Hopefully, it is a really tough decision. I would guess that when healthy Subban, Vatanen, Greene, and Severson are locks. Then, the other four can make up the final pair based on performance and health. I would say that Butcher and Smith are the ones with the highest ceilings and the ones to root for to have the most success.
This team needs to defend better and that takes major depth. They go into next season in a better spot than they have been in multiple years and hopefully they can take advantage. This group could help them move the puck, defend at even strength, kill penalties, and some of them need to help on the power play.
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The Carrick signing seems to have gotten mixed emotions online, but having a guy like that as an extra is really nice. There are going to be injuries so it is important to have that next man up mentality and the Devils should be able to do that. It is going to be interesting to see how they all handle the pressure of battling against your own teammates for a roster spot, but it is a good thing to see from the management and fan point of view.