New Jersey Devils: How 2022 Offseason Moves Are Working Out So Far
So far this year, this New Jersey Devils team has had the best start since the 2017-18 season. The 13-game winning streak and a good January helped with that. But the main credit goes to Tom Fitzgerald. While the last offseason may not have been his best, he still got solid pieces to this Devils’ core. A few of these players have worked out, while others have struggled constantly throughout the year. However, Fitzgerald’s team has been fun for the organization and the fanbase. Here’s how each player is doing so far.
Vitek Vanecek
Considering all the moves Fitzgerald made this offseason, the best move had to be acquiring Vitek Vanacek in free agency. Vanacek had already produced two stellar seasons in Washington with the Capitals. Now with the Devils, the idea was to have him and Mackenzie Blackwood be an excellent goalie tandem. However, it would be Vanacek that would be the better goaltender between the 2. In October and November, he played 15 games and had an 11-2-2 record with a .923 save percentage.
He was a big part of the 13-game win streak. He can step up in every game he plays, making any save to compete against high-pressure teams.
Maybe the Devils rely on him too much. The only problem Vanacek has isn’t even his fault. He’s not perfect, but he is relied too much on the team to bail them out almost every night he starts. Because of the lack of defense and sometimes the offense not even showing up, the team must hope that Vanacek does everything he can to keep them in games. That’s not only a lot of weight on Vanacek’s shoulders, but it’s also entirely unfair for Vanacek that he must do almost everything. However, his talent and approach shine through, giving the Devils an actual goaltender they can play in big games.
Ondrej Palat and John Marino
For the first few weeks of the offseason, the Devils’ main target was Johnny Gaudreau. After he decided to go to Columbus to play with the Blue Jackets, Fitzgerlad got the next best player available in Ondrej Palat. The deal, while maybe a little overpaid, made sense for the team’s direction. By taking a core piece of the Lightning championship roster, you can get a veteran who can be very clutch in situations. However, he hasn’t done that much to impress yet. The biggest issue of Palat was the groin injury he suffered in late October that sidelined him for two months. Still, once he can find his place on a solid line in the lineup, he can probably be a key player for the next few months of the team.
Palat hasn’t been the only guy who has been having problems with injuries this year. The Devils acquired John Marino from the Penguins in the offseason via a trade that involved Ty Smith. Marino was a solid defensive piece for the team for the first two months of the season. He always was around making plays stopping chances from other teams from applying too much pressure. However, like Palat, he also suffered an injury. After a late December game against the Canes, Marino sustained an upper-body injury. Marino is currently sitting on the IR. Because of the injury, the Devils’ defensive core has become awful. The core has become so bad that the team suffers games. The most significant example was on January 26th in Nashville against the Predators. The Devils lost that game due to the terrible defense giving up constant odd-man rushes and breakaways. So, it’s clear the Devils need Marino back. Once he comes back, we can hope he plays as he did earlier in the season.
Erik Haula and Brendan Smith
One of the current players who is having so many issues right now is Erik Haula. In the offseason, the Devils acquired Haula from Boston, who in return gave Pavel Zacha to them. At the time, the deal for Haula made sense, and they would be getting a veteran who could supply a little offense. However, now the deal makes it look like Boston won that trade. Haula has had many problems this year. One of those issues is being unable to hit the net to score goals. He’ll get chances, but they’ll either go wide or sometimes hit the post. Haula also has a penalty problem. This season he ranks at 35 penalty minutes on the team, which is the 3rd most. What makes the deal even worse is that now Zacha is thriving in Boston with the Bruins. He has nine goals and 23 assists in Boston. That’s his 4th highest point total in his career. Because of that, he got a four-year extension worth $4.75 million a year. Haula must do something to change the way he is playing because this might be one of the worst trades Fitzgerald has ever done.
But Haula isn’t the only veteran signing that hasn’t worked in Fitzgerald’s favor. Another guy, the Devils, signed in free agency is Brendan Smith. The Devils signed Smith as a veteran core depth defensive player; unfortunately, he has done nothing to impress anyone in the organization. Just like Haula, his biggest problem is his penalty minutes.
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Brendan Smith has over 55 penalty minutes throughout the season, which is the most on the team. Even though our penalty kill has been great, he (along with Haula) cannot take so many penalties because, sooner or later, those penalties can cost us games. These two signings show how sometimes things won’t work out, and let’s hope Fitzgerald can make better deals at the trade deadline.