The New Jersey Devils are in really good shape defensively. They had a few question marks on the back end, with John Marino and Kevin Bahl playing below their expectation in 2023-24. Now, they both play for different franchises. Brendan Smith also left this offseason, taking his veteran status to the Dallas Stars.
The Devils were already in decent shape on the back end, with Dougie Hamilton returning from injury, Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec coming off their first full-time NHL seasons, and Jonas Siegenthaler getting healthy (although he’s still a question mark). To fill in the gaps, Tom Fitzgerald was busy.
First, he re-signed Nick DeSimone, who he grabbed off waivers from the Calgary Flames. DeSimone was really good during the end of the season. In 11 games, he was on the ice for 10 goals and just two goals against at 5v5 according to Natural Stat Trick. Sure, part of that is the ridiculous .977 save percentage while he was on the ice, but he was still good and earned a contract.
The Devils signed Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon on the first day of free agency, giving them both decently long deals. They will both solidify the back end, and they should start every night. They will be in the top six unless something really unexpected happens.
Will the strength of the Devils defense allow them to positively go 11-7 next season?
The other defensive addition this offseason was Johnathan Kovacevic. The former Montreal Canadiens defenseman appears to be the seventh defenseman on the roster, but he’s played like a legit starter.
This really looks like a solid eight-person unit, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be issues. Still, that’s a conversation for a different day. Where this conversation gets interesting is thinking about the lineups. Could this team spend more time with 11-7 lineups?
In recent years, it did not make sense to go 11-7. The Devils did not have enough talent to warrant this conversation, and the team seemed to play worse with this lineup configuration, no matter who the defensemen were. The only time it seemed to work is when Smith played forward, and that isn’t really an 11-7.
Truthfully, the play of the forwards will dictate whether this happens. The Devils signed Nolan Foote on Monday. If he can solidify an NHL role, or it Nathan Bastian can come back with a vengeance after a lost season, the Devils won’t have to worry about going with the extra defenseman. Yet, the depth really isn’t there at forward, with Kurtis MacDermid likely working as an extra, and one injury really throws things for a loop. Would the Devils rather have an AHL-level forward in the lineup, or Kovacevic.
Sheldon Keefe is going into his first year as Devils coach. His history with 11-7 lineups is complicated. He’s previous shown his disdain for the approach, but he ended up doing it late in 2023 when the Toronto Maple Leafs were struggling heading into the playoff stretch. The Leafs did eventually win a playoff series for the first time in almost 20 years that season, but he wasn’t running 11-7 in the playoffs.
So we see that Keefe isn’t against the idea completely, and the Devils have immense talent on the back end. Two factors are going to control the lineup: production and injuries. Yes, that’s not different from any year, but the way the Devils are constructed really opens the door for the 11-7 lineup that’s actually a positive.