New Jersey Devils: 5 Predictions For Second Half Of Season
The New Jersey Devils‘ first half of the season was mostly awful. The team faced the worst COVID-19 outbreak in the league, a strong start was immediately thrown out the window, Mackenzie Blackwood and Jack Hughes have been inconsistent between elite and outmatched, and Nico Hischier has played five out of the Devils 30 games this season. It’s been somewhere between unwatchable and disappointing for many different reasons.
While the first half of the season has been about as bad as possible, the second half is setting up to be a lot of fun. The Devils’ youth is really taking a step forward. Tom Fitzgerald is setting up to bring in another haul at the trade deadline. There are rookies who could be making their NHL debuts at some point. There’s a lot to get excited about, even if it seems the Devils are already out of postseason contention.
We made a bunch of predictions before the season started, but as we looked at on Wednesday, not a lot of them did very well. Some were pretty good, but others were so bad. As our moms used to tell us, if at first you don’t succeed, try try again.
There is so much that could happen in the second half of the season. The Devils could trade every veteran on the roster and just go with a lineup of players under 25. They could re-sign Kyle Palmieri and make him one of the key veteran cogs to making this team a contender down the line. The team could make a push down the stretch and prove they can win in this league, or they could tank for the best possible draft pick. Lindy Ruff could find a lineup that sticks, or he could keep trying new lines all season to get as many young players as many minutes as possible. With that said, let’s make a few more predictions for the second half of the season.
Jack Hughes Leads Team In Goals
The Devils goal leader for the first half was the obviously predicted Miles Wood. (Kidding.) He currently has nine goals, which shouldn’t be enough to lead a team after 30 games, but we are not in a normal season. Wood is having himself one of the better bounce-back seasons in recent memory, but that likely won’t keep him in the lead for goals for long.
Currently, there are three players who are tied for second on the team in goals. Yegor Sharangovich is the surprise of the group, with seven goals on the season. He was absolutely great during his time in the KHL before the season, but many thought he’d still be trying to build his game in the AHL. However, he’s earned his spot in the NHL. Pavel Zacha is the other surprise, as he’s been much better as a role player this season.
It’s still going to be Jack Hughes who is above them all by the end of the season. He’s had his struggles this season, but his advanced stats are off the charts. It’s clear he just needs a finish on his wing, and he might get two by the end of the season depending on which prospects the Devils end up signing.
According to Natural Stat Trick, Hughes is second on the team in individual high-danger chances. He’s first in penalties drawn, which will lead to more power-play opportunities. He’s number one on the team in takeaways, which is eventually going to lead to more breakaway chances. These numbers are all at even strength.
The real reason he’s going to start potting more goals is the power play is going to make changes. Yes, we’ve been waiting for it, but eventually, the Devils will put him in a positive spot with a man advantage. In 83 minutes with at least a man advantage, Hughes has nine shots. That’s pathetic, and the Devils have to change that. He’s going to get more opportunities, and that will lead to more goals.
Miles Wood Stays On Current Pace
Just because Hughes is going to usurp him in goals scored doesn’t necessarily mean that Wood has to slow down. Wood has been a revelation this season, finally finding a way to use his speed to his advantage. He’s severely cut down on penalties. He’s had by far the least amount of penalty minutes per game this season. In 30 games, he only has 19 total penalty minutes. He hasn’t been a detriment on the ice and hasn’t put his team in a bad spot.
That’s led to Ruff giving him the most minutes per game than he’s ever had. Wood is averaging more than 14 minutes per game. He’s been trusted in important situations, and the team has used his line as a change of pace. His linemates are learning he will always race out of the defensive zone, and that can lead to chances when the defense is sleeping.
Wood is on pace for 17 goals if he doesn’t miss any games. That can absolutely happen. He might not be scoring at the pace he was at the beginning of the season, but he still has three goals this month. If he can score at a slightly higher pace, he should easily get eight more goals before the end of the season. The Devils in general have been scoring more as of late, and it looks like they are finally shaking off the side effects of the virus. That will lead to good Miles Wood games.
Wood is still trying to prove he is an asset worth protecting in the Seattle Kraken expansion draft. Putting up a real fight with Hughes for the goal lead will give the Devils a reason to keep him in the locker room.
Rookies End Up Scoring 120 Points
Right now, the New Jersey Devils rookies are leading the league with 57 points as a team. Ty Smith (17) and Janne Kuokkanen (15) are leading the way, and they find themselves in the top ten in rookie scoring. If the Devils stay on this pace, they will have 106 points from the rookies at the end of the season. That’s really good, and it will likely lead the NHL.
However, the Devils are scoring more, and the rookies are leading the way. Smith is coming off a two-assist performance. Kuokkanen has nine points in his last nine games. Yegor Sharangovich has three goals in his last six games. Mikhail Maltsev is becoming a regular in the lineup. Nate Bastian is eventually going to return to the lineup. Nick Merkley might get a few more looks.
On top of everything, the Devils are finally getting a rhythm again offensively. They are putting up more high-danger chances, and the rookies are really helping the veterans get going. In fact, Kuokkanen and Sharangovich are personally responsible for bringing Travis Zajac back from the dead. He scored another goal on Tuesday against the Flyers.
So, how can they outdo the pace they’ve put up? Well, for one, Tyce Thompson is going to get an NHL look, and he showed in college he can put up points against high-level competition. The Devils could be adding Dawson Mercer to the lineup after his season ends. He’s been scoring more than a point per game in juniors. Some players on the Binghamton Devils like Reilly Walsh and Nolan Foote will get a chance to play if the trade deadline ends up being a busy one. More rookies are coming, and the scoring will continue to increase from the young guns.
Mackenzie Blackwood Gets Back In Elite Conversation
Mackenzie Blackwood hasn’t exactly been drawing confidence for Devils fans this season. He isn’t exactly failing like Carter Hart, but his -4.39 goals saved above average is not good. To compare, Scott Wedgewood has a +4.93 GSAA. Wedgewood has been much better than Blackwood when looking at the season as a whole.
Still, Blackwood is clearly the starter now and moving forward. He said he had trouble recovering from his COVID diagnosis. The team was falling flat in front of him. Blackwood had an .838 save percentage on the penalty kill. If anyone watched the Devils penalty kill for a long time, you would know most of those weren’t his fault. The PK is playing much better, and Blackwood is bailing them out much more often.
Blackwood is going to scratch and crawl his way back into the elite goaltender conversation. It’s going to take a while, but he is playing well and his numbers will continue to improve. He’s had great second halves to the season for the past two seasons. This season, Blackwood’s save percentage ranks 31st among goalies with 10 starts. However, he just needs to improve it by 12 points to jump all the way to the top tens.
Blackwood has to be the man to change the narrative around him. The defense isn’t going to get better. In fact, the Devils are probably going to trade half the starting defense. They will be left with players like Will Butcher and Matt Tennyson taking reps. They might get someone like a Dakota Mermis in a trade deadline trade. Still, Blackwood has to carry this team as best he can, and he will get himself back into that top Canadian goaltender conversation.
Trade Deadline Is Insane
The New Jersey Devils have so many tradeable assets on the team, it is hard to keep track. There are the obvious ones. Kyle Palmieri is one of the most coveted expiring contracts in the league. Dmitry Kulikov could really help the bottom pair of a contender. Sami Vatanen still has value across the league. There are some exciting contracts that need help before going anywhere. Nikita Gusev desperately needs a change of scenery. Travis Zajac has a no-move clause, but he could wave it for the right situation. Aaron Dell is still on the roster just so the Devils won’t lose him through waivers.
This is all leading up to an absolutely insane few weeks leading up to the trade deadline. Teams are sitting on their hands right now, but teams will be making moves in the near future. There is positive movement towards vaccine distribution, which could lead to teams getting a playoff gate. This might lead to teams pushing harder for trade deadline acquisitions because if they get to the second round, that’s even more gate to make up for lost profits this season.
So, teams might be willing to pay more than we thought for the Devils expiring assets. Teams might even target assets with term like P.K. Subban, Miles Wood, and Andreas Johnsson. Some of these owners are desperate to get a few extra bucks, so talking to a team like the Devils that is willing to take on salary could lead to really good assets coming the other way.
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There’s the other fact that the NHL Draft is happening as scheduled. Teams don’t have the same confidence in scouting when they couldn’t go see games live. Those 1st-round picks in a weak draft might be easier to obtain than once thought. This is going to be an insane trade deadline with everything happening pretty last minute.