3 Reasons To Watch New Jersey Devils Hockey Rest Of Season
As the NHL season readies to resume following the All-Star break, most NHL fans start gearing up for their team to make a playoff push. For New Jersey Devils fans, it signals the end of the season and the beginning of the NHL Draft lottery simulator.
Winners of just eight of their last 33 games, the Devils season is over. Not only do they sit 20 points behind the Boston Bruins for the second Wild Card spot, but they are also behind the Philadelphia Flyers, a team that has had two separate 10-game losing streaks. As tough as it has been to watch the Devils this season, there still are a few reasons to continue watching Devils games: Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt continuing their breakout seasons, the rise of Alexander Holtz, and the trade deadline.
The Jack and Jesper Show
In a season that has had more downs than ups, three things have remained consistent: the stellar seasons by Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt and terrible goaltending. Hughes and Bratt have been the lone bright spots in the Garden State and boy have they shined. Both are producing just under a point per game and have a chance to be the second and third Devils to accomplish that feat in the last decade.
There is a reason most hockey analysts had Hughes as their breakout pick this year, and he has not disappointed. Hughes has 27 points in 28 games, which was good enough to earn him his first All-Star nod and make him the youngest player to earn the honor since 2011. Hughes’ 12 goals are already a career-high, and he is only six assists away from breaking his previous high of 20 assists last season. Over the last two seasons, it has been challenging to watch the Devils, but seeing Hughes develop has eased the pain.
When it comes to Bratt, the former 6th rounder and All-Star snub is enjoying a breakout season that not many could have foreseen. Bratt leads the Devils in every relevant offensive stat, goals, assists, points, plus/minus, you name it. The skating and playmaking ability has always been there, but the goalscoring is a new wrinkle he has added into his game. One of Jesper’s biggest critiques has been his unwillingness to shoot the puck. This season, Bratt’s already broken his career-high in shots with 113. Hughes and Bratt have broken all sorts of career highs, and the NHL season is only halfway over, which is great because these two will continue to grow, but it also means a lot more Devils losses.
Why the hold up on Holtz?
The Devils’ 2019 seventh-overall pick was drafted for the sole reason to score goals on a line with Jack Hughes or Nico Hischier, and it is time to make it happen. In his first trip up with the big squad, Alexander Holtz had two points in six games, which are not groundbreaking numbers for someone playing on a first-line with Hischier. In his second stint, he played one game, and Coach Nasreddine left him out to dry. Holtz was thrown on a line with Jesper Boqvist and a guy in Mason Geertsen who is better as a defenseman than a forward.
Since being sent down to the AHL, Holtz has done nothing but produce at over a point per game pace. He has the second-most goals on the Utica Comets, and earn AHL rookie of the month honors. According to QuantHockey, among AHL players, Holtz is 12th in terms of average points per game at 1.17.
While Holtz has been going ballistic down in the AHL, the Devils have struggled at many things; one being scoring goals. The Devils are in the league’s bottom half in goals scored, and among those in the bottom half, the Bruins are the only playoff team. Not to mention, the Devils have won just eight games in their last 33, and in just 13 of those games, have they been able to score three or more goals. In their last ten, they have managed to score 3+ goals three times.
The Devils cannot score goals and have difficulty developing their players. A solution to both is bringing up Alexander Holtz, dropping him on a line with two All-Star caliber playmakers in Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt. All Holtz will have to do is not miss empty nets. They will be able to feed him, which will develop his play and confidence and, of course, solve some of the Devils’ goal-scoring woes.
Possible Trade Deadline Bait
Last season, fans watched Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac get shipped to Long Island. The season before, Taylor Hall, Blake Coleman, Andy Greene, Wayne Simmonds, and Sami Vatanen were all moved out of the Garden State. Outside of Taylor Hall’s MVP season, where the Devils were buyers at the trade deadline, since 2013, they have been consistent sellers. Devils fans have watched their team sell off tons of players, which will be no different this season. While there are not too many Devils whose term is expiring at the end of the 2022 season, a few guys could garner some interest.
Damon Severson
It is time for the longest-tenured Devil to become the next traded Devil. The Devils have a culture problem, and Damon Severson has been around many losing teams and has admitted to being a part of past Devils teams who have admitted to quitting on the season. Moving Severson while he has value and term would be the Devils’ best option to get a good return. When Blake Coleman was traded, he also had an extra year left on his contract, which was why the Devils were able to get a top prospect, along with the first-round pick. When it comes to Severson, I expect the Devils to acquire even more. Buyers are more than willing to overpay for defensemen at the trade deadline. Severson is a talented defenseman with another year on his deal, which smells like a big overpay. If the Devils do not obtain a prospect who is a guaranteed NHLer, the trade’s a failure.
P.K. Subban
Although Devils fans may not believe it because they love using Subban as a scapegoat, there will be teams out there interested in acquiring the former Norris Trophy winner. P.K. is still more than capable of being a third-pairing offensive defenseman who brings veteran leadership and powerplay abilities. However, nobody is taking that contract, so if the Devils want to move P.K., they will have to retain half of his salary. When it comes to the return for P.K., talent-wise, they could get a 3rd or 4th round pick, but I could see it being a 5th rounder because of the contract.
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Jimmy Vesey
The Devils signed Vesey to a professional tryout contract this season, and he has performed way above expectations. Before this season, Vesey’s game was solely offense, and he remodeled it in a hardworking grinder role. While Vesey has been one of the few Devils who looks like he cares, his contract is expiring this year, and there is a good chance he will not return this offseason. Any bottom-six forward who adds a little grit and a lot of penalty kill experience is a sought-after guy at the trade deadline. If the Devils decide to move Vesey, they could receive anything from a 4th to a mid/low-end prospect.