New Jersey Devils: Ty Smith Injury Means Opportunity For Kevin Bahl

The New Jersey Devils announced that second-year defenseman Ty Smith is going to miss the entire preseason with an injury. This is obviously not ideal, as the left side of the defense doesn’t necessarily have a lot of depth. It’s better after the team traded for Ryan Graves in the offseason and for Jonas Siegenthaler last season. They traded away Will Butcher to the Buffalo Sabres which takes away some of the depth, but there are other options.

The main option here is Kevin Bahl. He looked pretty good last season, but his underlying numbers weren’t the best. He didn’t join the team until April 29th, which was well within a season beyond lost, so it was hard to get everyone motivated. Take last season with a grain of salt in general.

Bahl is likely going to get an opportunity to make the opening night roster now that Smith is questionable. The Devils have very few options to replace Smith. Christian Jaros came to the Devils from the San Jose Sharks in a deal that sent Nick Merkley the other way. They also just claimed Morgan Geertsen from the New York Rangers off waivers. They are two options, but they both seem like much better options as seventh and eighth defenders.

The one really competition for Bahl is Colton White, who has played well so far this offseason. He’s someone who seems to get forgotten, but he still has NHL upside. He’s someone who will compete directly with Bahl. The two have a similar style, but they bring different attributes to the table.

Bahl has a chance to show he is more than just a big guy. The Devils made size a priority this offseason, but Bahl has been here since the Taylor Hall trade in December of 2019. He’s someone who the Devils wanted to build around. His upside is questionable, but with Smith, Dougie Hamilton, Ryan Graves, and eventually Luke Hughes, the Devils only need Bahl to become an NHL player.

He can start to prove that this season. He’s been in the AHL for a full season after spending four years with the Ottawa 67’s. He’s only 21 years old, so he’s far from a make-or-break year, but he does have an opportunity on his hands. If he’s able to sneak onto this roster for a few weeks while Smith recovers (if it takes that long), he can prove that he belongs in the starting lineup. That means he needs to take his minutes and make them matter. Don’t allow goals while you’re on the ice in the preseason or the regular season, and grab this opportunity by the horns.