New Jersey Devils End Of Season Forward Grades
The New Jersey Devils finished the very disappointing season with a dreadful 27-46-9 which is good for a 38.4 winning percentage which is down from last season’s 40.2. This was supposed to be the season that the team was in the very least competitive and in the playoff hunt for the final month but they managed to get even worse. This is also a team that made the biggest offseason moves with proven scorer Tatar and an entire top pairing to defend with Hamilton and Graves. It was a disaster for the team but let’s go ahead and take a look at players on an individual level and compare them to the preseason predictions.
We will start with the forwards and like always the ratings are based on expectations.
Nico Hischier
GP:70 G:21 A:39 PTS:60
Pre-Season Prediction: GP:70 G:22 A:37 PTS:59
The captain was once again a solid player on both sides of the rink this season. While he might not be a superstar, he is one of the best second-line centers in the league and a man you can have out at any point of the game and feel comfortable. He ended up positive on the +/- side of things on a dreadful team and this was playing the hardest matchups night in and night out. He might not be flashy, but Nico Hischier is the kind of guy who wins you cups and is a big part of this core.
Rating: A
Jesper Bratt
GP: 76 G: 26 A: 47 PTS: 73
Pre-Season Prediction: GP: 75 G: 15 A: 30 PTS: 45
Jesper Bratt made the big stride he looked capable of this season and is going to be up for a huge raise this offseason. He looks a whole new level of confidence with the puck and was one of two players who would drive the play every night making him beyond valuable for this team. He has always had a phenomenal shot but this season he finally decided to use it and getting away from the always pass mentality this team has was what shot him up the points chart and into being a star.
Rating: A+
Tomas Tatar
GP:76 G:15 A:15 PTS:30
Pre-Season Prediction: GP:78 G:25 A:35 PTS: 60
Tomas Tatar never found his stride. He was moved around the lineup, but he did spend significant time in the top six with two players making things happen which made his season more disappointing. His shot looked mediocre and like most of the middle of this roster tended to disappear for periods at a time and even for entire stretches of games. His two-way play was lacking and he looked pretty disinterested in some games. Physicality was never his game but it would have been nice to see a few hits the Devils might have one year left with him but they will be making changes and he could be on his way out if he doesn’t slide down to the third line.
Rating: C-
Jack Hughes
GP:49 G:26 A:30 PTS:56
Pre-Season Prediction: GP:82 G:20 A:40 PTS: 60
Jack Hughes finished the season with an injury. Before that, he kept up the pace he started with and has proven to Devils fans that he is a star. His shot is incredible and he can thread the needle on his passes making him such a dangerous player. His skating and puck control continue to be next level, and he can drive the play at the NHL level now in a big way. Next season, the NHL will see what Devils fans do and Hughes will be talked about as a top ten offensive player in the league.
Rating: A+
Yegor Sharangovich
GP:76 G:24 A:22 PTS:46
Pre-Season Prediction: GP:82 G:26 A:20 PTS: 46
Yegor Sharangovich still has one of the best shots in the league. He had a good season, but it wasn’t without challenges. He was playing away from Hughes due to injury for a long time and had a slow start to the season. In the end, he met this team’s expectations. This guy needs to be next to Hughes next season and when those two get a full 82 games together it will be an easy 30-goal season for both.
Rating: B+
Dawson Mercer
GP:82 G:17 A:25 PTS:42
Pre-Season Prediction: Not Rated
Being over a half-a-point guy in your rookie season, a season you were probably expected to not play in the NHL, is quite the accomplishment for Dawson Mercer. He turned a lot of heads this year. His hot start kept him up and while he did have a much slower end of the season. He went 18 games without scoring before the final game, but he should be a happy man overall. He plays with heart and is willing to go to the hard places despite being a skilled guy and it is pretty clear that he is a top-six player which bodes well for this team. Hopefully, next season we see him with Hughes and Sharangovich for a good stretch to see if they can build the chemistry they had in a short time together. That could be a deadly combination.
Rating: B+
Pavel Zacha
GP:70 G:15 A:21 PTS:36
Pre-Season Prediction: GP:82 G:15 A:17 PTS: 32
Did Zacha get more points than predicted? Yes, he did.
Devils fans know that this doesn’t tell the story at all for the player. Fortunately, there seems to be a good chance he is out the door based on comments at the end of the season from the GM and organization. He has the big frame this team needs and has never thought to use it. He gets pushed off the puck constantly and the worst part about it is that he will always just quit on the play and puts almost no effort into backchecking. While he was credited with 80 hits on the season this is one of the many cases in which I have no idea who counts this stat or sometimes what even counts as a hit in a game-by-game basis. It is a stat, one of the few, in which the eye test is the way to go. He has no place in the top six and this team can’t afford a soft defensive liability in the bottom six so it is time to move on.
Rating: F
Andreas Johnsson
GP:71 G:13 A:22 PTS:35
Pre-Season Prediction: GP:65 G:7 A:8 PTS: 15
For a guy who had such a bad first season with the team, Andreas Johnsson did manage to turn it around at the start of the year. He looked more like the player he was in Toronto but in the back half of the season, he tailed off and got very little done, being not noticed for large chunks of games like a lot of this team. Mercer rejuvenated him early but he will have to find chemistry elsewhere because as it stands now he should be further up the lineup and won’t be paired with Johnsson. He will be playing for a third-line role next year and he could even be on the chopping block as the team tries to improve but he does have a leg up on some of the other options.
Rating: C
Jesper Boqvist
GP:56 G:10 A:13 PTS:23
Pre-Season Prediction: GP:25 G:3 A:4 PTS: 7
Jesper Boqvist looked like a man passed over but in the latter half of the season, he looked pretty good in a depth role. His skating was as strong as ever but he looked more willing to drive the net and try to push the play a lot more than in previous seasons. As it stands right now he would be my choice to center the third line if this roster does not add one.
Rating: B+
Janne Kuokkanen
GP:57 G:6 A:11 PTS:17
Pre-Season Prediction: GP:82 G:14 A:22 PTS: 36
Janne Kuokkanen had a great first full season in New Jersey, but he was moved away from Hughes and Sharangovich which really hurt his production. He used to be a great role player for that line and his puck retrieval and hitting added something this team needed but this season he didn’t do either. As of right now, it is hard to tell which one is the real Kuokkanen but he is a step behind moving into next year now and will have to prove something in training camp and the preseason. If he does look like the player from the first season though he would look good in the bottom six but if not he will play a few games here and there but that is it.
Rating: D
Micheal McLeod
GP:77 G:6 A:14 PTS:20
Pre-Season Prediction: GP:78 G:10 A:18 PTS: 28
Michael McLeod did exactly what a fourth-line center needed to do this year and while he won’t get attention for it around the league he should be looked at in a positive light. He was second on hits and led the team in faceoff percentage which are two things they struggle in. He plays his role and plays it well so this guy is pretty much a no-brainer to keep around and with a full season next to Bastian and Wood being back his numbers will go up.
Rating: B+
Nathan Bastian
GP:60 G:11 A:5 PTS:16
Pre-Season Prediction: Added Mid-Season
It was no secret that I hated losing Bastian and then loved getting him back because much like his best friend he is the role player that this team needs. He led the team in hits and provides the size and edge this team just doesn’t have. Much like Mcleod expect his numbers to be up a bit next year with Wood in the lineup and those three will bring the energy every game.
Rating: B+
Next. Devils Need To Hire Barry Trotz. dark
Jimmy Vesey
GP:68 G:8 A:7 PTS:15
Pre-Season Prediction: GP:50 G:9 A:7 PTS: 16
Without Miles Wood, the Devils were missing a big part of their depth, and Jimmy Vesey while not quite the impact player did a decent job on the fourth line and even played up the lineup a little bit. He was decently physical and while it will be hard to make this team for him next year if he is a guy who plays some games due to injury it wouldn’t be the worst thing.
Rating: B
Fabian Zetterlund
GP:14 G:3 A:5 PTS:8
For an AHL guy who was a bit of a surprise call-up, Zetterlund was looking good at the end of the year. He had the drive that all of the other guys looking at a third-line spot next year didn’t have and it should put him in the conversation going into next year or at the very least putting him near the top of the call ups list.