New Jersey Devils: 5 Players Who Can Raise Their Value Down The Stretch
The New Jersey Devils are likely out of the playoffs when you read this, but that doesn’t mean there’s no point to the final month of their season. These five players have a lot to prove before this offseason.
It’s been a bad New Jersey Devils season that has seen some players step up. Jack Hughes returned from his shoulder injury with a new eight-year, $64 million contract. It looked like a risk at first, but now it’s clear Hughes is this team’s star, and he is well worth the $8 million average salary he’s going to be paid after this season. Jesper Bratt is in a contract year, and he’s never been better. He proved himself to be a point-per-game player at the perfect time. Nico Hischier is also signed long-term, and he is having the best offensive season of his career. He’s finally able to make a play by himself.
The rest of the team is somewhere between “in the right direction” and “outright disappointment”. This season has shown us what we need to know about a few players, even if it doesn’t mean they can be moved in the offseason. The Devils situation next year is kind of strange in the only real free agents they have coming off the books are P.K. Subban, Jimmy Vesey, and Mason Geertsen. That doesn’t really open up a lot of spots on the roster.
Which New Jersey Devils player needs to do more to raise their value before the end of the season?
Still, the Devils are going to be doing some intense litigation of its roster in the offseason. If players want to stay in New Jersey, some have something to prove. If others want to have some leverage in contract negotiations, they need to make some moves right now. Others might want to prove themselves to other teams when it comes to trades in the offseason. There are plenty of reasons to prove oneself down the stretch, but there are only a few players who have a chance to do it.
Jesper Boqvist
Jesper Boqvist was a player that many Devils fans were close to giving up on. That seems way too early since the Swedish center is just 23 years old. The Devils hoped the former 2nd-round pick would be ready to be a regular in the lineup earlier than he was, but he’s proven to be a good piece on the third line. The Devils have really struggled to put together a true third line since trading away Travis Zajac. After moving Dawson Mercer to the first line, it really put a hole in the Devils lineup. Boqvist has done a good job filling it.
While Boqvist has earned his spot in the lineup, he’s still not scoring. He only had two points in all of March, and both were assists. He was scoring better in February when he had five points including two goals, but it’s still not good enough to prove his position in the lineup for next season.
Boqvist is a restricted free agent at the end of the season, and it’s not a guarantee they are going to give him a qualifying offer. Listen, it’s more likely than not they will give him the QO, but we’ve been surprised before.
Boqvist needs to prove he is a regular NHL player. The Devils are going to get reinforcements next season, and we can’t see Tom Fitzgerald going into next season with roughly the same lineup next season. Those spots have to come from somewhere, and Boqvist’s spot is definitely in jeopardy.
Tomas Tatar
The Devils haven’t had the season they were expecting from Tomas Tatar when they gave him a two-year, $9 million contract this past offseason. He hasn’t been terrible, but the team expected to get more than 12 goals this season. The Devils thought they were getting a 20-goal scorer coming off a strange season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, it seems like Tatar is just not the player he used to be.
Tatar has been pretty inconsistent this season. He’ll go on runs where he will have three points in four games, but then he will be kept off the scoresheet for six games straight. He has 15 games to show he can become a consistent scorer. Lindy Ruff is still trying to find the best line for him, but if he finds chemistry with someone, it will go a long way.
This might be the last that we see of Tatar in a Devils uniform. The Devils might look to see what his value is on the open market. Next year will be the last year of his deal, so the Devils can make it more valuable by eating half of his contract without it being a huge issue. It would only impact the cap for one season, and it opens a spot for the Devils to make a deal elsewhere.
Tatar could also show that consistency the Devils are looking for and prove he just needed time to find chemistry in this lineup. There’s a lot to prove for Tatar over the last month of the season.
Andrew Hammond
This one is a weird one since we still haven’t seen Andrew Hammond yet, but the Devils traded prospect Nate Schnarr for him, so they have plans to get him in the lineup. He’s still recovering from an injury, but the expectation is he’ll get a majority of the starts down the stretch with Nico Daws going back to the AHL for their stretch run.
Hammond is a player who’s held onto the NHL dream despite an up-and-down career. He had that miraculous run with the Ottawa Senators to save their season, but that was all the way back in 2015. He hasn’t hit those peaks since then (but it’s hard to hit a .941 save percentage at any point). Since then, he’s been part of the Avalanche pipeline, then the Wild, then on to the Buffalo Sabres through Rochester, then back to Iowa to represent the Wild, then he was in Montreal’s system which is when he was traded to New Jersey.
Hammond is looking to prove he deserves at least a third-goalie position with a team next season. He’s going to get a chance to prove he can at least be an average goalie on the NHL level. Jon Gillies will be his backup, so average will be welcomed by the coaching staff.
It’s going to be an uphill battle, as the Devils are just going through the motions and Hammond hasn’t been a regular in the NHL in years. Can he at least let the Devils be competitive on a nightly basis? Only time will tell.
Ty Smith
Ty Smith is just broken. It’s hard to figure out what happened to him. He was someone on Calder Trophy ballots last season. Now, he can’t seem to keep himself in the lineup. The Devils have put him as a healthy scratch multiple times despite not having anyone remotely useful to replace him.
Smith needs to show that he can handle the speed of the NHL. He’s made mistake after mistake after mistake since the beginning of the season. The Devils are going to lose P.K. Subban this offseason, so no matter what, Smith will get a new partner. But, he needs to prove to the Devils that he can handle a whole season on the blue line.
With Luke Hughes playing so well in college hockey, the Devils don’t need Ty Smith as much as they once did, but he can’t be this bad. He has to play a style of hockey the Devils can build around.
Is Smith going to be part of this team’s future? He has to prove it now. The Devils over the next month are going to be evaluating everyone on the roster. Smith especially needs to prove something. Can he erase six months of terrible play with one month of great play? Probablt not, but it could sure help his standing with the franchise.
Miles Wood
Miles Wood is a restricted free agent at the end of the season, and the Devils sorely missed him after he injured his hip in the preseason. He missed months after surgery, and it left the Devils with a huge hole in the lineup. He has puck instincts the Devils miss, as only Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt has his takeaway ability and nobody on the team has his edge. He’s already gotten under everyone’s skin in the two games since he’s been back (although the Bruins game is one we’d rather not talk about).
Wood hasn’t lost a step, which was important to show during this last stretch of the season. He needs to show his offensive skill is still there, but without the edge he’s shown it’s just another guy.
Wood is looking to earn a long-term contract. There are some complications, as the Devils could be looking at a new head coach next season. Will this one be as patient with Wood as others? He’s playing much better now than he did in previous seasons, but can he do it no matter what system he’s playing in?
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Basically, we’re wondering if Wood is a product of his system. It seems unlikely since Wood has had one good season under Ruff and one under John Hynes. He needs to show that he can be a consistent offensive threat and the money will come.