Pucks and Pitchforks
Fansided

5 Observations From New Jersey Devils Final Roster Cuts

By Nick Villano

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - JANUARY 07: Blake Coleman #20 of the New Jersey Devils and the rest of the bench smile after teammate Nico Hischier scored in the second period against the New York Islanders at Prudential Center on January 07, 2020 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - JANUARY 07: Blake Coleman #20 of the New Jersey Devils and the rest of the bench smile after teammate Nico Hischier scored in the second period against the New York Islanders at Prudential Center on January 07, 2020 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 6
Next
New Jersey Devils
Nolan Foote #29 of the Kelowna Rockets. (Photo by Marissa Baecker/Getty Images) /

What Happens With Nolan Foote

Nolan Foote was the surprise player that made the roster. He’s looked alright in the past two scrimmages, but he hasn’t played a game since last February, so if he doesn’t play until the AHL season starts then it will be a full year. He came back for one game with Kelowna after a lower-body injury, and he left the game early and never played again.

Now, the Devils are keeping him over Merkley, who needed to go through waivers. The Devils clearly feel like they need to see more of Foote because they could have assigned him to the AHL team without exposing him.

Foote’s shot has always been his strength. He really didn’t have much of a chance to show it off in training camp. He was usually stuck with inferior linemates just because of how it all worked out. Still, he looked slow at times but made a play here or there at others. His finishing ability is what would have put him on this roster, but we didn’t see him score.

So, why is he still here? Mostly, it’s probably to get him practices on the NHL level. The Devils traded Blake Coleman for Foote and the pick that ended up being Shakir Mukhamadullin. Muk is going to take a long time before he is close to NHL ready. That puts the pressure on Foote to show he’s worthy of a former Devils fan favorite.

He likely starts the year on the taxi squad. This is probably just to get him more time with the NHL club before the B-Devils season starts. He should be in the top six for Bingo when the season starts, so getting more time against NHL talent can only help.

Home/Editorials