5 Observations From New Jersey Devils Final Roster Cuts

The New Jersey Devils made final cuts on Monday to finalize its lineup.

We are only two days away from New Jersey Devils hockey hitting the ice in an official capacity. The Devils take on the Boston Bruins on January 14th, and for the first time since March, a real lineup is settling in. After a hard-hitting training camp, the Devils made major cuts on Monday. Some were surprising. Others not so much.

Five players were placed on waivers and six players were assigned to Binghamton. That leaves the Devils with 28 players when you include Jesper Bratt, Sami Vatanen, and Nico Hischier. Those three won’t be in the starting lineup on January 14th, but the hope is they should all be ready to go by early February.

The Devils still have to put together a four-to-six player taxi squad. So, at least at first, there have to be at least two of the players placed on waivers on the squad. The Devils need to have a 23-man roster by the time puck drops on Thursday. There are still a few moves on the horizon, but this is the roster as we expect to see it.

A lot of interesting developments came out during these roster cuts. Some players who seemed like they looked good in training camp didn’t make the team and other players who appeared to struggle were kept on the roster. The lineup will probably change over the first few games as Lindy Ruff tries to find the best lineups. With no preseason games, Ruff will want to see how his lines do against real competition. Unfortunately, this season that will have to happen in games that count.

There’s a lot to take out of Monday’s news. Here are our observations.