The New Jersey Devils beat the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night in dramatic fashion. It took a seven-round shootout before Timo Meier finally put the Devils on top, giving them an important win with both Columbus and Carolina losing games to out-of-division opponents. The Devils are facing scrutiny since the Christmas break, and they've put themselves in a place where every point matters.
However, those points came at a price. Jonas Siegenthaler, who has spent most of the season as possibly the best defensive defenseman in the league, went down awkwardly near the boards in the first period. He needed help getting off the ice, and after the game, Keefe said he was "going to miss time."
This is obviously not ideal, but the Devils do have some options to replace Siegenthaler in the interim. Don't forget, the Devils came into the season thinking Johnathan Kovacevic was going to be a seventh defenseman. That allows them to make a move that makes sense now and for the future.
1. Call up Simon Nemec
There is a slight complication with calling up Simon Nemec since he's a right-handed defenseman, but that can easily be rectified with Brett Pesce playing on the left side (which he's done with Dougie Hamilton in the past). Nemec has been incredible with the Utica Comets for two months now. He just played in the AHL All-Star Game and looked really good with the best of the minor leagues.
Nemec is not Siegenthaler, but he provides the Devils with two things that can help: he's incredibly balanced and can provide offense the Devils are missing. Nemec was drafted to be a two-way dynamo to pair one day with Luke Hughes. We're not there yet, but with a three-game point streak and a great weekend at the All-Star Game under his belt, Nemec's confidence is probably sky-high.
There's also the whole controversy around his comments about his status within the organization. It had the entire hockey world trying to get Nemec into terrible trade offers, but it makes way more sense for the Devils to try Nemec in the NHL now that there's an opportunity.