The New Jersey Devils have been on fire as of late, but it’s too little, too late. Despite winning five of their last six games, they are 11 points out of a playoff spot. They haven’t been able to make any ground on the teams above them, as the Eastern Conference is putting up a ridiculous amount of points. The Devils could legitimately win every remaining game this season and miss the playoffs.
It was a rough year to be a Devils fan. While everything was going on during the games, nothing was happening in the front office. No big trade to make up for an injured Jack Hughes. No major moves with Jacob Markstrom floundering. There wasn’t even a switch at head coach when it was clear the team couldn’t make the necessary adjustments when they were losing (the Utica Comets are the only team this franchise owns that has won a game after going into the third period with a deficit).
There are a few positives, however. Jack Hughes has been a superstar since scoring the Golden Goal at the Olympics. Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt have been really good as of late. Luke Hughes is back to his growth mentality, and Simon Nemec has been better than expected. Cody Glass has been better than advertised.
However, the biggest positive that came from this season is the emergence of Arseny Gritsyuk. He’s a little older for a rookie since he had a whole career in the KHL before coming to the Devils, but he is playing way better than we expected.
His offensive numbers haven’t been perfect, with only 13 goals and 18 assists for just under half a point per game. However, there’s some bad luck there. He’s also not getting many opportunities on the power play, with only two goals there. He actually has as many 5v5 goals as Nico Hischier. Only Jesper Bratt has more 5v5 assists according to Natural Stat Trick. Gritsyuk is doing the best with a bad situation.
Unfortunately, the Devils have lost Gritsyuk for at least the next few games, and now some are saying the Devils should shut him down entirely.
Arseny Gritsyuk should not be shut down by the New Jersey Devils
That notion is insane. Gritsyuk needs as much NHL experience as he can possibly get, and before the Devils go into negotiations with him this offseason, he needs some good news on the ice. Imagine if, after the frustrating season the Devils have suffered, the Devils tell Gritsyuk he’s not allowed to play when he (we assume) wants to.
If Gritsyuk wants to coast to the offseason is a different scenario. However, we don’t see that being the case. Gritsyuk seems like a player who legitimately loves this game, and he shows that with his two-way play.
Shutting him down to get healthy seems overly cautious. Everyone is dealing with something. If the doctors say that he’s cleared to play, then forcing him to take an early vacation puts too much on the table. Let him work to get back and focus on the team as long as he possibly can.
Signing Gritsyuk to a reasonable deal is the Devils' most important offseason priority. The Devils seem poised to keep their rookie on the team for the long term, but anything can happen this offseason. Tom Fitzgerald might not even be making the decision. With that said, Gritsyuk needs to play as much hockey as possible. Even if he gets to 40 points, that would be an important milestone for his first NHL season.