New Jersey Devils: Matt Tennyson Could Shock Everyone And Make Team

The New Jersey Devils made a ton of cuts going into the last week of the preseason. The most surprising move is keeping Matt Tennyson on the defense.

Coming into the preseason, it seemed like the New Jersey Devils defense was set. Take a look at the lines they have already in place.

Sami Vatanen–P.K. Subban
Will Butcher–Damon Severson
Andy Greene-Ty Smith
Mirco Mueller–Connor Carrick

Then, cuts came to camp on Sunday. There were some interesting choices. Mikhail Maltsev wasn’t given a chance to continue his attempt to make the team. Joey Anderson and Brett Seney both got cut despite a long stint in the NHL last season.

The rest of the cuts we should have seen coming. The players left on the roster include most of the regulars, then about six players fighting for the final spot on the roster. Players like Michael McLeod and Ty Smith make sense. One that stood out, however, was Matthew Tennyson.

He was playing on a second line defense ahead of Mirco Mueller in the last game. Tennyson was actually playing pretty well. He came into camp with little expectation, but even when you look at his number one might think he always had at least a shot. Tennyson has been wearing “7” all preseason, which is usually used for players that will eventually be New Jersey Devils, not players that are bound for Binghamton.

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The Devils did sign him to a two-year deal this offseason. That’s actually important seeing where he is in his career. Tennyson is already 29 years old. He’s played 124 games in the NHL. He doesn’t have much offensive upside, with just 20 points in his career. He seemed like he was going to be a nice veteran presence in the minors.

Now, it feels like he can actually break in with the Devils. The one reason why is the lackluster play of Ty Smith. Smith is making really bad defensive-zone turnovers, and hasn’t shown the offensive upside we were hoping to see. Smith’s loss could be Tennyson’s gain.

There are two games left, and we’d expect Smith and Tennyson to be in both of them. If they are truly fighting for a spot, they need as many looks as possible. Players like Subban and Greene don’t need the extra work, so give them the night off to give the others a chance to prove themselves.

Tennyson was a huge long shot before the preseason, but he might have done enough to actually get a look on the main roster. The question is did he do enough to send Ty Smith back to Spokane?

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