Lesson Not Worth Learning: Grit wins championships
We’re not going to sit here and say that the Panthers’ toughness played no role in their championship win. It was all over the coverage of the team, and they did get under the skin of the opposing team. What we are saying is the Devils have the grit to get under another team’s skin. Just this week, we heard from Tage Thompson who was still talking about a hit from Stefan Noesen in February.
The Devils hit players, and they have players who will scrap if need be. They aren’t backing down from anyone this season. Do you know what they are missing? Scoring. They need to score more goals.
It’s that simple. They traded a lot of their speed and skill for grit and hitting. They overcommitted on the wrong side. They needed those elements, and Noesen and Paul Cotter are great pieces for the larger core, but now they need to add more scoring to complement them and replace what’s been lost.
The Devils don’t need to spend millions on Sam Bennett or Brad Marchand because they are gritty. They need players who can score (which does happen to be both of them, but that impact can be had for a cheaper price).