The New Jersey Devils play the last two games of the preseason this week. The leaders of this wonderful franchise have a ton of major decisions to make before the start of the regular season.
Decisions, decisions. That’s what’s happening inside the Prudential Center every day after practice. The New Jersey Devils are stacked, but having a ton of talent doesn’t always lead to wins. The Edmonton Oilers couldn’t make the playoffs with Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid on the team. There needs to be more.
That’s where the coaches and the front office come in. The New Jersey Devils have Ray Shero, John Hynes and a bunch of really talented front office pieces to make these decisions. We’re just a little over a week away from the start of the regular season. These decisions are coming this week.
The Devils already made a bunch of decisions on Sunday. They cut 20 players from their training camp roster, including Joey Anderson and Brett Seney, who were mainstays on the NHL roster. The team also cut Mikhail Maltsev, who many thought had an outside chance to impress enough to make this team. This goal could have been enough to do it in other years.
There are only a few days, and two games, to come up with these decisions. Some will be dictated by what happens in these games, and others will come down to Coach Hynes’ preference. Either way, none of these decisions are that easy. Some of them can change at any moment. We go in reverse order, eventually getting to the Devils most important decision.
Honorable Mentions:
P.K. Subban‘s Partner: The New Jersey Devils will likely put Sami Vatanen on the top line, but how long can they have him playing out of position? Will Vatanen be happy with that role going into a contract year? P.K. Subban will need time to fit into the system and show that last season was the exception not the rule.
Jesper Bratt‘s Spot: He can play anywhere, but we can see him falling anywhere in the top nine. We’re not sure whether Jesper Bratt is primed for a breakout, or if his ceiling is muted. Also, his contract is coming to an end after this season. What’s best for his development and the Devils success?
Second Power Play Unit: The first power play unit is pretty set. Taylor Hall, Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, Wayne Simmonds/Kyle Palmieri and P.K. Subban. What should the Devils do with that second unit? At times last season, the second power play unit was awful. Brian Boyle was the best scorer on it at one point. That’s bad. Nikita Gusev helps this issue, but who else is on the unit? Do you drop Nico or Hughes to play center, or go with Travis Zajac? Is Will Butcher the only defenseman on the unit, or do you go with two and add either Ty Smith or Damon Severson? There’s a lot of questions here.
Pavel Zacha‘s Visa Issue: Pavel Zacha finally signed with the Devils, but now because of immigration problems, he’s not allowed in the country. That’s a problem since he can’t get paid by an American company even if he’s playing in Canada. What will the Devils do with that fourth-line center position if Zacha isn’t ready in time?