Looking At New Jersey Devils Roster Prior To Training Camp
Defense
On defense, the team looks better than before thanks to the addition of John Marino. There are still some interesting questions going into camp.
Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler are here long-term and play the opposite sides, so it would be nice to lock them together for a while as the top pairing. They have very different styles that complement each other. This would allow Hamilton to show off his offense more than last season.
Damon Severson has been in nearly every trade rumor for years now and while I am a supporter of his it is likely he will be moved within a year so keeping him with Siegenthaler makes little sense.
Down the right side, the team is currently running Hamilton-Severson-Marino-Nemec, not to mention Shakir Mukhamadullin and Reilly Walsh which is just overloaded. Hence, unfortunately, the writing is really on the wall for Severson.
On the left side, Ryan Graves was a massive pick-up last season. Being in the last year of his contract, he could be in danger of being moved. The Devils shouldn’t, however. Currently, the depth on that side is Siegenthaler-Graves-Smith-Bahl and that is likely how it will be run this season. Luke Hughes will 100% be here in 2023-24. Graves adds the competition and physicality this team needs so while right now. Don’t call him a must sign, but will come down to if he wants to and knowing they will have to pay a guy in a few years who could demand a lot of ice team early on with his play.
Siegenthaler-Hamilton
Graves-Severson
Smith-Marino
Extra: Bahl
Brendan Smith could also be passed over by Bahl, Walsh, or Nemec and is more of a placeholder on the roster for the next two seasons. Bahl and Walsh are at the age where they need to show they are ready before they are passed over by the multitude of first-round picks on defense. Either way, this top 4 is legit and close to a playoff team’s defense even before the team’s true aces in Hughes and Nemec are shown.
Goalies
In net, the team could go a million ways and play a million goalies again. However, with Vitek Vanecek, there is reason to be somewhat optimistic. His two seasons had matching .908 save percentages which is pretty average. It’s far and above what the Devils got last season.
Blackwood has exactly zero expectations now and the pressure on him should be lessened. He isn’t looked at as a #1 guy now but still could come back as a solid backup and have a good career. He also should only be looking at playing 30-40 games versus what we as fans were expecting a few years ago which was probably in the 60-65 game area. He also has a strong defensive core in front of him and with all the time he has had to rehab injuries, there really isn’t a better situation for him.
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Overall, the team looks to be improved and should have no trouble staying out of the basement of the league but only time will tell. They also have a lot of players who could be gone in short order if they don’t perform with only 3 non-ELC forwards signed after this season. Players do tend to do good in contract years as well which is something to keep an eye on so let’s go Devils.