5 Current New Jersey Devils Impacted Most By Offseason Moves
The New Jersey Devils made some splashes in the quick span of a few days.
This version of the New Jersey Devils looks a lot different than it did just two weeks ago. The Devils spent less than a week seriously upgrading the roster. First, they said goodbye to Cory Schneider, Mirco Mueller, Kevin Rooney, and John Hayden. Analytics says this will end up being addition by subtraction. Then, they added Ryan Murray, Andreas Johnsson, and Corey Crawford, and the only “roster” player it cost them was Joey Anderson.
The Devils made out like bandits, and it doesn’t even consider the fact they got Alexander Holtz, Dawson Mercer, and Shakir Mukhamadullin in the 1st round of the NHL Draft. The Devils are absolutely better not only on the NHL roster but in their prospect pool as well. It was a great week for Devils fans thanks to GM Tom Fitzgerald.
It was a banner week, to say the least. It’s one that is going to have drastic impacts on the roster now and in the future. When looking at the roster, it’s clear a lot of current players are going to see impacts from the players that are leaving.
The Devils are looking to compete this season. This might not mean competing for the playoffs, and it definitely doesn’t mean they are looking to go after the Stanley Cup. However, it does mean a lot of those five and six-goal losses are in the rearview mirror. The Devils may not be one of the better teams in the league, but with this roster, it looks like they will at least avoid being an embarrassment.
While almost every player will see impacts from the introduction of these new players, it seems obvious some face bigger changes than others. These five are set to see the biggest changes by the addition of Crawford, Johnsson, and Murray.
5. Miles Wood
We’re not hearing a lot about Miles Wood this offseason. It’s strange, really. The Devils have put just about every other player in front of a podcast, on during the big draft-day show, or on some kind of social media campaign. Wood has been absent from almost all of it.
Sure, he’s had a bad season. Like, it was really bad. However, they seem to be giving all players a reset with this new regime. Wood seems to need it more than anyone else.
Last season, Wood spent a lot of time on the fourth line with Rooney and Hayden. That’s not a great combination. Wood spent a lot of time stuck in his own end. On paper, with Wood’s speed, it should lead to some exciting opportunities. While there were multiple breakaway opportunities, there weren’t a lot of goals that came from them.
Now, as the lines shake out, Wood will likely change his linemates from very unskilled forwards to extremely skilled forwards who are young and need to hit their ceilings. He’s expected on a line with either Pavel Zacha or Michael McLeod at center. At right wing, the Devils will likely have a prospect. Either Janne Kuokkanen, Jesper Boqvist, or a low-risk move like Brett Seney.
Either way, this is going to be worlds better than what he was with last season. Wood has his own struggles beyond what his linemates brought to the table, but if he was ever going to get right, he couldn’t do it with Rooney and Hayden. Adding Johnsson to the forward group moves good, young players down. That will exponentially help Wood.
4. Jack Hughes
Jack Hughes needs to be with scoring forwards. He spent a lot of last season changing lines constantly. This season is going to be a lot different for him. With Lindy Ruff, he’ll be able to build chemistry with whoever is on his line. Many are saying that the Devils got Johnsson for the first line with Nico Hischier, but there’s a lot of good he could do next to Hughes.
Last season, they tried just about everyone with Hughes. He had some trouble on the defensive end, which has some worried about what a partnership with Johnsson might look like on the ice. Honestly, it’s a slight concern, but not one that should stop the Devils from trying to make it work.
Hughes is absolutely imperative to the future of this Devils organization. If he ends up being a bust (we’re years from even deciding that before someone takes this out of context), then the Devils might need to restart yet another rebuild. So, putting Hughes in a better position than he was last season might be the team’s biggest priority. Putting him on a line with Johnsson and, say, Jesper Bratt would give him ample chances to turn his zone entries and high-danger passes into goals.
Hughes numbers were an issue mostly in counting stats. Getting him some of those glorious goals and assists will help him build confidence.
3. Mackenzie Blackwood
The Devils had a massive goalie problem last season. Mackenzie Blackwood struggled to start the season, but obviously he figured it out in a big way. Then, the issue was every time he wasn’t in net, the Devils were going to get lit up. Cory Schneider just lost it. Whether that’s because of injury, lack of confidence, inability to play behind a bad defense, or a combination of all of them. The Devils bought him out, eating the final two years of his contract and stretching the cap hit over four seasons.
Now, the Devils have Corey Crawford, one of the most responsible goalies in the league over the last decade. He has an issue with injuries, but when he’s on the ice he’s expected to be a goalie with a .915 save percentage. That’s huge for a Devils team that’s been missing a backup for seemingly forever. Since the Devils had Martin Brodeur and Johan Hedberg in 2012 had the team really felt confident when the backup comes in.
Blackwood has a player that can split the starts with him. Four times Blackwood played both ends of a back to back last season. Next season, he should never have to do that. This is huge in a season that’s expected to be condensed, or at least playing 82 games in a shorter time span. That means more back to backs and a bigger need for two good goalies. If it was Blackwood and someone who couldn’t hold his own, then Blackwood would be playing back to backs quite often again. Since it’s Crawford, the Devils have a legit 1B option that will take a lot off of Blackwood’s plate.
2. Jesper Bratt
Jesper Bratt is the only player on this list that might be negatively impacted by the Devils moves. Head coach Lindy Ruff is going to find a perfect spot for the Devils new acquisition Johnsson before he finds the perfect spot for Bratt. Nikita Gusev and Kyle Palmieri are going to fit around that, but Bratt is the one who’s going to get the “best of the rest” treatment.
It won’t be the worst situation. If the Devils keep the roster how it is now, it’s almost certain Bratt will get a chance to play with either Hischier or Hughes. That guarantees him top-six minutes if Bratt can handle it.
It’s probably hard to remember now, but Bratt was rolling at the end of the season. Bratt had 17 points in his final 20 games of the season. He had just 12 during the rest of the year. The Devils need a more consistent Bratt, but at the same time Bratt needs time with more consistent teammates. The John Hynes model did not work for him (or any of the forwards last year for that matter).
Bratt will be fine. He wasn’t expected to be a priority this offseason. The Devils could still sign another forward (Mike Hoffman is inexplicably out there) which would likely move Bratt down to Travis Zajac‘s line. It’s still not a bad spot. It’s just going to come with a lot more defensive responsibility and minutes against the other team’s top line. At least he’ll get better minutes than most third-line wingers.
1. P.K. Subban
There were two major priorities for the Devils this offseason. They needed to make a decision with the backup goalie position (check), and they needed to find a partner for P.K. Subban. Last season, nobody was able to really play a good partner to Subban. They tried Andy Greene, Will Butcher, Sami Vatanen, and even Damon Severson. None of it worked, and the Devils wasted the first year of Subban.
There’s a slight possibility that Subban might be cooked, but it’s much more likely that his first year in New Jersey was just a mess of bad opportunities. The Devils, in general, were a mess, so it makes sense their big offseason acquisition followed suit.
The addition of Murray immediately puts a left-handed defenseman who can counteract what Subban is still good at. Subban’s shot is still second to none. He still has instincts in the offensive zone. The points did not come, especially on the power play last season. Then, he also tried to make up for the Devils’ lack of defense overall. After coming in from Nashville, this was a massive turnaround in philosophy.
Next. Devils Top 5 Remaining Free Agents. dark
Subban and Murray may not end up pairing up, but right now it looks like it’s more likely than the other options. Butcher is an option, but we saw last season he’s not someone we want on the first line. Murray makes a lot more sense, but he is massively injury prone. The Devils need a backup plan, but for now, the Devils have a fit for Subban.