Sheldon Keefe says Simon Nemec was "in the wrong league" after Devils' loss

The New Jersey Devils had a chance to erase the memories of an unimpressive NHL Trade Deadline day with a big game against the Winnipeg Jets. The Devils were on their first losing streak in a while, and this could be the perfect setup to make the final stretch of games memorable. They were taking on a good team in the Winnipeg Jets, but they were playing the second half of back-to-back games. Meanwhile, the Devils had two days off.

Instead, the Devils put forth possibly their worst performance of the season. There are a lot of candidates, so maybe there are better candidates, but a 6-1 loss to Winnipeg when the team is in desperation mode is paltry at best.

There were many who could take the blame for the loss. Jacob Markstrom was not good. He has to be better if the Devils are going to hold off the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Rangers. Brian Dumoulin struggled in his first assignment with the Devils. The offense was non-existent again.

However, the one person on everyone's mind as far as blame goes is Simon Nemec. The second-year defenseman has had his struggles this year, and it's the reason he was in trade rumors basically every day since January. It's also why he's spent most of this season in the AHL. Injuries to Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler will have him in the lineup for the rest of the year. And he has to avoid plays like this:

Nemec made multiple mistakes on the play. He wasn't aware the puck was played with a very high stick. Once Winnipeg touched the puck, it would have immediately gone to a faceoff outside the zone. He played it, which in itself is a mistake, but he compounded the mistake by making a pass in front of the net without understanding where the opposing team's players were.

Adam Lowry came running in, and he got the easiest turnover ever. He didn't waste it, putting the puck in the net.

The next goal was also Nemec's fault, showing he just got way inside his head after the mistake. It's okay to make a rookie mistake here and there. The problem with Nemec is it compounds and he can't fix himself within the game. Oftentimes, Keefe is forced to sit him down and play with fewer players on the bench.

After the game, Keefe didn't mince words.

Sheldon Keefe said Simon Nemec was "playing in the wrong league" in the third period

Keefe's words need to ring hard for Nemec. He did praise him for his play as of late, but performances like he had in the third period completely erase all the good he's shown for the past three games. It also doesn't help that those good performances are coming in losses.

Everything has gone wrong for the Devils this season, and Nemec's downward spiral is not far from the top of the list. After his play last season, these mistakes are baffling. He needs to figure out the issues and fix them, or he'll be trade fodder once again.