The New Jersey Devils and Florida Panthers have more in common than we think. They both have a captain who is a Selke-level forward every year (Aleksander Barkov and Nico Hischier). Both have older superstar goalies who are trying to make the best of the end of their best years (Jacob Markstrom and Sergei Bobrovsky). They have good defenses with everyone playing a role, and both teams have a core of stars who are driving winning.
Unfortunately for Devils fans, the winning isn't driven nearly as much in Jersey as it is in South Florida. The Florida Panthers are heading back to the Stanley Cup Final, waiting for their opponent in the Oilers-Stars series. They beat the Carolina Hurricanes in five games, handing them the same fate they handed the Devils.
Logic says the Devils should be trying to do everything the Panthers are doing. This team is dominating the Eastern Conference. Since trading for Matthew Tkachuk, the Panthers have been at the top of the league. They are now heading for their third-straight Stanley Cup Final appearance and looking for their second championship. Who wouldn't want to emulate that?
Unfortunately, trying to copy rosters as teams that are winning is almost never a sound strategy. It causes teams to overspend on bit parts of winning teams, and it changes their strategy.
Here's the thing about winning: it looks different every time. The Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers are built differently, yet they both won the Eastern Conference three years in a row. What they do have in common is where the Devils should emulate. They both play a similar style no matter who is on the ice. Obviously, the Panthers have more faith in Sam Reinhart scoring than A.J. Greer, but the point is anyone can score at any time.
That comes down to mentality. The Devils had players in their lineup who played poorly. It comes down to their situation and impact. While a player like Jesper Boqvist would get frustrated with a situation where he wasn't playing on the Devils, he embraces the role in Florida.
Paul Maurice was a huge reason why that mentality changed. When he took over as head coach, Florida really started to turn things around. He was the right guy at the right time to coach this team. He's a player's coach that's also no nonsense. He will defend his guys to the grave while keeping them in check behind closed doors.
If he follows this mentality, the Devils have the right guy in place. Sheldon Keefe does call his guys out when the timing is right, but his team will follow him through heaven and earth. They seem to enjoy playing for him, and he has a clear system in place that begets winning hockey.
We saw against the Hurricanes that there was a playoff-style system here. The Devils can win with this. They are a forechecking team that causes turnovers and takes advantage of opportunities with huge chances. They have to finish those chances, which is one big difference between the Panthers and Devils right now.
Making mistakes with the roster and overextending the cap constraints is were teams make mistakes. Spending big to bring in Sam Bennett would be a mistake. Spending too much on Boqvist or Greer would be an even bigger mistake.
Focus on the process and learn from the execution. If the Devils make that their motto this offseason, they might make themselves contenders.