Assessing Future Of 5 Struggling New Jersey Devils Players
By Nick Villano
Mackenzie Blackwood
Blackwood is also on the shelf after he spent most of the season dealing with a heel injury that might need surgery at some point. There’s no timetable for his return this season as the Devils continue with Jon Gillies and Nico Daws in net. Blackwood was once considered one of the pillars of this team. Now, there are only question marks around his future and the future of the Devils goaltending position.
Blackwood is 25 years old, and he’s starting to trend to having more bad games than good ones. He definitely has more bad stretches than he has good stretches, but that usually has to do with trying to play through injuries. It just doesn’t work for him. This season, if it’s already over, he will finish with a career-worst save percentage, GAA, GSAA, and pretty much every goalie stat there is. Out of 75 qualified goalies, only 14 have a worse save percentage than Blackwood this season.
It’s not like the Devils have an NHL-ready option waiting in the wings. Jonathan Bernier was supposed to give the Devils starter-quality minutes, but he had to get hip surgery. Now he’s an even bigger question mark than Blackwood. The Devils might be in a rough spot when it comes to the position.
More likely than not, the Devils will start next season with Blackwood getting another chance to be the starter. They might bring in another name to be a 1B option, the third such player in as many offseasons to sign here.