New Jersey Devils: Mid-season Reviews
The New Jersey Devils season has not gone as planned. How do the players grade out individually?
It is that time of year again. Let's take a look at the New Jersey Devils as individuals with a big enough sample size to get a real feel for how they are doing. There have been many surprises, good and bad, on this team, so let's go ahead and rate how things have been with the usual disclaimer that ratings are based on play as well as expectation. On top of that, we wish a speedy recovery to number one defender Dougie Hamilton, who will not be rated since his season ended at game 20, and we all are excited to see him back in action in the playoffs or next season.
Jack Hughes
GP: 32 G: 15 A: 30 PTS: 45
Mid Season Rating: A
When Healthy Jack Hughes has done his thing offensively, he really drives this team even though they have other stars and a way deeper team. They were not the same when he missed time early, and opponents look like they are finding it easy to slow this roster down now that he is out again. The Devils need his drive and, honestly, just his confidence and swagger on the ice in a big way. That being said, he has gotten way more frustrated with some things this season, which knocked him down to an A versus an A+. He needs to stop trying to force plays and take the time to reset because, most of the time, giveaways kill this team, and he is responsible for too many of them. The second thing is the yelling at the refs and showing frustration too often. Is the NHL refereeing terrible? Yes, but having your best player get knocked off his game can only hurt this team and they really need him to be focussed on the things he can control.
Jesper Bratt
GP: 43 G: 16 A: 30 PTS: 46
Mid Season Rating: A+
Jesper Bratt continues to just be Jesper Bratt, and there is not a lot more to add than that, fortunately. He is looking at his first 82+ point season, and he has been playing a 200-foot game, unlike most of the roster. The team is lucky to have him for a long time and on a good contract.
Tyler Toffoli
GP: 43 G: 16 A: 13 PTS: 29
Mid Season Rating: B+
Tyler Toffoli was brought in to score goals and score goals he has. While it is unfortunate for the Devils that Yegor Sharangovich has 19 goals in Calgary (three more than Toffoli), that has nothing to do with the team's new player. That being said, Toffoli can disappear a bit (like most goal-scorers) when he isn't getting shots. The difference is noticeable without Hughes on his line. He is currently on pace for a 30-goal season, though, which is what this team wanted and needed. His 55-point pace is good, but he will certainly not be matching that outlying career season with the Flames at this rate.
Nico Hischier
GP: 32 G: 12 A: 12 PTS: 24
Mid Season Rating: B
Captain Nico Hischier has not been himself for much of the season offensively, but he has not slacked on the backcheck, which still makes him an important piece. If he didn't get injured, he would be looking at a 62-point season, which is a disappointing drop from last year, but he has been banged up a lot. On top of this, it is also worth pointing out that Hischier has an 18.2% shooting percentage, which will very likely be regressing to a more normal 12% at some point, which could make his goal and point numbers drop even lower in the second half.
Timo Meier
GP: 30 G: 9 A: 7 PTS: 16
Mid Season Rating: D
Timo Meier's season has been way more down than up. In the 30 games he has played, he has probably been a good player in 5 of them. Don't rage on the guy too badly, however, since he was injured, but when you are skating so slow, Milan Lucic could do circles around you, it is time to sit. While almost no player wants to sit, they want to help the team, the way to help the team is to get healthy. The coaches and training staff should be taking a lot more heat from fans for making the poor guy suffer on the ice because his play this season versus his time as a Shark is not even on the same scale let alone level. Ever since he returned from his needed time off, he has looked better, though, and is using his body and aggression, so I still have high hopes that Timo can have a strong second half and perhaps playoffs. That being said, close to $9 million for a 24-goal 43-point pace is an awful start to an eight-year contract, but only time will tell how it goes.
Dawson Mercer
GP: 43 G: 13 A: 9 PTS: 22
Mid Season Rating: C+
Dawson Mercer has been a frustrating player this year and has regressed in his on-ice play despite the numbers not being as bad as one would guess just by watching him. The biggest thing for him is he needs to show up every night like he did before this season and not take shifts or games off.
Erik Haula
GP: 38 G: 10 A: 12 PTS: 22
Mid Season Rating: B
Erik Haula has quietly played his game this year for the most part. There might not be much to say on that, but it is a good thing for a guy in the middle or bottom half of the lineup. He is chipping in with a little bit of physical play, kills penalties, shows up nightly, and could still rack up half a point a game and 20 goals.
Michael McLeod
GP: 43 G: 10 A: 9 PTS: 19
Mid Season Rating: A+
Mikey McLeod had a career-high of nine goals and 26 points coming into the season, has already beaten the goal total, and could potentially fly past his point total. He is playing great defense like always, is physical, can play anywhere in the lineup and not look out of place, and is on pace to be quite literally the best faceoff man in NHL history this season. Not a lot more needs to be said about the heart and soul guy who quickly has become not only a fan favorite but actually a very big part of this team.
Alexander Holtz
GP: 43 G: 12 A: 10 PTS: 22
Mid Season Rating: A
Alex Holtz had produced a ton despite limited ice time and, for some reason, limited trust from Lindy Ruff. He earned himself a top-six spot for a good chunk of the season with all the injuries, and despite that, he has been limited to being on the third and fourth line, playing an average of 12 minutes a night. He is still on pace for a 20-goal season and being a half-a-point-a-game guy, which is insanely impressive. Hopefully, they give him a real shot at some point and a stretch of 14-15 minutes a night because his shot and skating are improving by the day, and this kid will be legit if you let him.
Ondrej Palat
GP: 35 G: 5 A: 9 PTS: 14
Mid Season Rating: C-
Ondrej Palat is still struggling in Jersey and has missed and is going to be missing a good chunk of time just like last season. His point totals are a little below where you would like, but the real issue is he was not showing the tenacity, grit, and ability to just win most puck battles as he did when he was younger. Unfortunately, he already looks like a guy who might have just hit that age where things go downhill, but as Devils fans, we just have to hope he has been banged up and can heal.
Curtis Lazar
GP: 38 G: 4 A: 10 PTS: 14
Mid Season Rating: B+
Curtis Lazar won't turn many heads out there, but he plays hard and physically for a smaller guy, and he is pitching in a good amount for a fourth-liner. If he can keep it up and show up on a night-by-night basis, he will be in the lineup and could extend his career another few years, though.
Nathan Bastian
GP: 41 G: 3 A: 5 PTS: 8
Mid Season Rating: D
Big Nathan Bastian came back last season with a vengeance after being taken by Seattle in the expansion draft for a short time, but this season, a bit of the magic is gone. If he finished with 15-20 points, that would be fine, but he needs to be more physically engaged again and be a bit of an intimidating factor on the ice.
Luke Hughes
GP: 43 G: 8 A: 16 PTS: 24
Mid Season Rating: A
Luke Hughes is built like what seems like all of the modern young NHL defenders and moves the puck super well, has a high IQ, and makes some risky plays. He is a treat to watch on a nightly basis and he is putting up the points while playing like a much older player most nights. That being said, he, much like his brother, does try to do too much at times and has had some very bad game-killing turnover that should mostly be fixed with experience. As of right now, though, he is the best defenseman on this team by a pretty big margin, and it is crazy to think he will still improve.
John Marino
GP: 43 G: 3 A: 12 PTS: 15
Mid Season Rating: B-
John Marino was one of the harder ones to rate, and while he has been doing better as the season moves on, he isn't quite the guy he was last season. The defensive plays are not perfect anymore, and he has some lapses in letting guys go out front, and that shouldn't happen. That being said, he has been the best guy defensively. The team just needs a little more out of him with how bad goaltending is and how young the other defenders are.
Jonas Siegenthaler
GP: 38 G: 1 A: 7 PTS: 8
Mid Season Rating: C-
Jonas Siegenthaler also took a step back this season, and it never really improved in the middle quarter. He has looked borderline lost at times, provides no offense, and has just been a different player than the one who could be relied upon for 20 minutes a night. Being less reliable than two rookies is not a good sign and hopefully he can figure it out.
Simon Nemec
GP:22 G:2 A:8 PTS:10
Mid Season Rating: A
Simon Nemec has been a breath of fresh air on this defense, and while he is all there on his own end, you can see the tools and skills there. Being a defender who can put up points and get things moving for the forwards is a great thing. As he continues to grow just like Luke Hughes, this team's defense could be scary.
Brendan Smith
GP: 34 G: 1 A: 4 PTS: 5
Mid Season Rating: C-
Brendan Smith is a mediocre number 6/7 defender and a pretty good fourth-line forward, which bumped this up a bit, but seeing him play virtually every game was ridiculous when they had the option. He is not the most responsible defender; he doesn't put up points and takes some bad penalties.
Colin Miller
GP:24 G:2 A:3 PTS:5
Mid Season Rating: A+
For a guy who has only played half the games, Colin Miller should have been in the lineup for a lot more. He did miss a large portion of the season with a preseason injury, but still. He leads the team at +11, and anytime he is with a younger guy, he is covering for them defensively, and they are able to play their own game better. I have loved what he has done so far and think he has more than earned his spot on the roster for the rest of the season.
Kevin Bahl
GP: 43 G: 0 A: 6 PTS: 6
Mid Season Rating: A+
Kevin Bahl is steadily improving on the back end. He is becoming a physical force, and I love that when a scrum or a guy is going after one of our skilled guys if he is on the ice, he is there to help. With his reach and stick movement, as he matures into a veteran with 300+ games, he could quietly be the shutdown guy on this team.
Vitek Vanecek
Record: 15-7-2 GAA: 3.22 Sv% 88.5
Mid Season Rating:F
Akira Schmid
Record: 5-7-1 GAA: 3.26 Sv% 89.3
Mid Season Rating: D
The Devils have one of the worst goaltenders in the league, no matter who plays, and the worst duo by far. While Vitek Vanecek seems like the nicest guy off the ice, they need to sit him so he can figure it out, or his career here might be short, while Akira Schmid needs to get some good games in the AHL, which it looks like he might be doing finally. They are sitting at 52nd and 46th of 58 goalies in the entire league for save percentage, and the conversation stops there. Stop pucks, or the team won't win games.
Nico Daws
Record 3-3-0 GAA: 2.71 Sv% 91.6
Mid Season Rating:A+
Nico Daws has not had a lot of game time this season, but the numbers speak for themselves. He should be given his shot to play starter for a few weeks at a minimum, and when he is at 15-20 games, the team can decide if they roll with this or make a deal. When he is in net high danger, chances are not auto goals, and when the defense has their breakdowns, he can bail them out. This is a guy who, in six games, has shown the potential to carry them to the playoffs and through the hard injury troubles.
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