New Jersey Devils: 5 Most Important Players When They Return To The Ice
The New Jersey Devils expect to get back to playing this week. Who are the players most important to their contention?
Finally, it looks like the New Jersey Devils are about to return to the ice. In fact, multiple reports say they will be returning to the practice ice on Monday. This is obviously the news most Devils fans have been waiting for. As of this writing, there are still 13 Devils’ players on the COVID-19 protocol list, but that’s expected to change sometime on Sunday.
Now, we can stop talking about the Devils on the COVID-19 protocol list and start talking about the team on the ice.
The Devils have quite the hill to climb when they return. If they somehow play Tuesday’s game against the New York Rangers, then they will have something like 47 games to play in 82 days. That schedule includes nine back-to-back games, eight weeks with four games, and a schedule where they still have to play the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals eight times.
It’s clear some of the Devils players have to step up if this season continues to show progress. The Devils lost some of the momentum that could have come from that Sunday win against the Buffalo Sabres, but they also had time to get some players back in the lineup. Now, they’ll be closer to fully healthy than they have been all season, which is ironic since they are just coming out of an outbreak.
The Devils need a lot to go right for the team to be contenders, but it’s all right there. They can actually put it together and fight for a playoff spot. This is an incredibly tough division, and it appears the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers are well on their way to taking two of the four playoffs spots.
It’s too early to look at standings, but just as a point of reference, the Devils are five points behind the New York Islanders, who own the fourth playoff spot. They also have four games at hand, which is a major positive. If these five players either continue their progression or straight-up breakout, then this could be a really interesting team come playoff time.
1. Jack Hughes
The most important player by any metric this season was and is Jack Hughes. He was downright terrible at times last season and unable to overcome adversity at others. It was a frustrating year for the first player to ever jump from the USNDTP to the NHL. Now, Hughes looks like he absolutely belongs in the NHL.
He has eight points in nine games including three very incredible goals. He won the Devils only game against the Rangers basically by himself, so he’s already putting up moments Devils fans will never forget. His point totals wained towards the end of January, but it felt like a barrage of points was on the horizon.
Once Lindy Ruff put Jesper Bratt and Andreas Johnsson on Hughes’ wing, it was like watching a magic show come to life. They had instant chemistry, and they were the best line on the ice. Hughes was the catalyst to driving that line.
If the Devils can have Bratt and Johnsson work on Hughes’ wing, that gives Ruff a chance to make great lines in the middle six. The Devils middle six has been terrible to start the season, so Hughes taking control of a line with Johnsson and Bratt takes the pressure off wingers like Nikita Gusev and Kyle Palmieri.
Hughes can become a superstar this season. If he finishes the season averaging a point per game, it completely changes how the world sees the Devils’ present and future.
2. Mackenzie Blackwood
The Devils did everything they could to keep their heads above water after Mackenzie Blackwood went on the protocol list. Scott Wedgewood did his best and Eric Comrie even got himself a win. However, they aren’t anywhere near the talent that is Blackwood.
The Devils went 2-0-1 with Blackwood in net and 2-3-2 without him. Blackwood might be the most important player on the team when looking at specifically winning games this season alone. He stands on his head night after night and very rarely allows in soft goals. He’s 11th in the league in goals saved above average despite only playing three games.
When he returns, expect him to play most of the games as long as he doesn’t have any long-term effects if he did get the coronavirus. The Devils did claim Aaron Dell and Comrie since the sudden retirement of Corey Crawford. When Blackwood returns, the Devils will have four NHL goalies on the roster, all of which have to go through waivers.
That’s not really that important, though, because of Blackwood’s ability to play games at a large clip. Nobody expects him to go the whole season with a .948 save percentage. The greatest season in terms of save percentage was Jacques Plante back in 1971. He had a .944 save percentage. If Blackwood could hover around the .925-.930 mark, everyone would be estatic. The Devils need a dominant Blackwood to survive this division.
3. Nico Hischier
Nico Hischier is finally expected to return from his lower-body injury when the team returns from the COVID-19 pause. Hischier is in a year that should see major growth. He’s 22 years old, plays on a roster that should build towards his strengths, and he might even be named captain once the team returns.
Hischier has a very important role on this team. With Hughes starting his breakout this season, now Hischier has to fix the middle six alongside Travis Zajac. Those two centers need to get the wingers scoring better than Pavel Zacha and Yegor Sharangovich were able to.
Hischier is very qualified to get the best out of his wingers. He will likely start his season with Palmieri and Gusev on his wing. Both those players have struggled mightily to start. The Devils are trying to figure out if it’s worth it to re-sign either or both of them since they are free agents at the end of this season. If they have kept their goalless streak much longer, the Devils will have to make major changes to their lineups.
That makes Hischier’s role even more important than past seasons. In other seasons, the Devils only expected Hischier to enhance Palmieri and whoever else was on his wing. Then, last season, they started putting players like Hughes and Miles Wood on his wing to get them going. This used to be Zajac’s role, but it became clear where the direction of the team was going. Hischier is asked to get the most out of Devils veterans who have started the season on the wrong foot.
4. P.K. Subban
P.K. Subban’s start to the season has been less than ideal. He’s better than last season, but that’s not a high bar to climb. He’ll have these decent games where he looks like he should be able to hold down a top-line role, but then he’ll have these atrocious games where he is doing nothing to help his goalies. Those terrible games will tank his advanced stats overall.
Subban was always a little inconsistent, even in his Norris Trophy contention years, but this is a little ridiculous. Most know I will do my best to defend Subban, but there are nights he makes that impossible.
There are times when Ryan Murray struggled with his role in the Lindy Ruff system, but more times than not, he’s helped Subban immensely. There’s something here with that pairing, but the Devils need Subban to just eliminate at least half of his mistakes. He looks a lot better on the ice. Last season, he just seemed like he lost a lot of his quickness and agility that made him a special talent. It’s not all back, but it seems a lot of his issues have to do with decision making and not with a lack of talent. He’s able to make up for some of his mistakes and can still take away 2-on-1s. He can make beautiful passes to spring a player for a breakaway. He needs to do that more often than not.
Subban is one of the few players who didn’t end up on the COVID-19 protocol list. That means he’s been able to at least find ways to work out, even if it wasn’t at the facility. He didn’t have to deal with symptoms, and he didn’t need to isolate himself. Subban was also given the “A” on his jersey, and he seemed to react well to the responsibility. He likely won’t get that opportunity again with Zajac and Palmieri returning, but it’s good to know he is working on getting better.
5. Miles Wood
That final spot was hard to really pin down. Of course, Murray could be here since he’s being paired with Subban. Damon Severson has looked like the Devils’ best defenseman, so he’s also an important cog on this team’s defense. Zajac has to get the third line going. However, it’s clear that Miles Wood is one of the most important pieces on this team.
What a strange season this has been. Wood is leading the Devils in goals and points. He has learned from some of his most frustrating mistakes of the past. After getting two minor penalties on opening night, he only has one in the eight games since then. He stopped shooting the puck at the goalie (as much) the second he joins the zone. Wood’s best asset so far was his ability to actually make a good move on the breakaway, something that went terribly last season.
Wood doesn’t need to lead the Devils in goals this season, but if he’s able to put up the first 20-goal season of his career while playing with Michael McLeod, then he can help build confidence for a Devils asset that many gave up on.
dark. Next. Forward Line Predictions When Devils Return
Wood is trying to prove his worth before this offseason’s expansion draft. Many thought he’d be the player the Seattle Kraken would take a chance on. Now, Wood looks like he might be untouchable. Either way, Wood is also one of the few forwards who didn’t find himself on the COVID-19 protocol list. He’ll have his legs under him while the rest of the team is still working its way back. He can drive play for the time being before falling back into his role.