Twenty-one-year-old defenseman Simon Nemec played a good two periods for the New Jersey Devils against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night. Then, he played the third period.
Nemec was directly at fault for three goals against in three consecutive shifts, dooming the Devils to a 6-1 loss.
Understandably, Devils fans, already frustrated by the team's lackluster NHL trade deadline, took to social media clamoring for the former No. 2 overall pick to be banished to the AHL Utica Comets. Barring something unforeseen, that isn't going to happen due to a few rules that are in place.
The 4th goal was an unfortunate bounce and also a lack of urgency. Both can be true. Fifth goal will happen to anybody, breakdowns happen. You just have a magnifying glass on Nemec expecting him to be Nick Lidstrom because of his draft status & Hamilton injury. Just relax, yall. https://t.co/zCZYRXKo8U
— Jonathan Bailey (@ByJonBailey) March 8, 2025
First, it is worth noting that Nemec was not on the Comets' AHL roster at 3 p.m. Friday, making him ineligible to play in the AHL for the rest of the season, including the Calder Cup playoffs. The Devils could send him down to the AHL, but with no games to play, there would quite literally be no purpose.
Roster management is no longer a factor for New Jersey, since there are no limits on roster size after the trade deadline.
Additionally, if the Devils had sent Nemec down and recalled him, they would have used one of their four allotted call-ups for the rest of the season.
Newcomer Daniel Sprong, who has replaced prospect Seamus Casey on the roster, has already eaten into those four call-ups.
The AHL transactions page only reflected Casey's reassignment on Saturday, even though the transaction took place on Friday before the trade deadline. It is, apparently, possible that the page could always populate a Nemec transaction if the Devils had made one, but this does not appear to be likely.
Simon says take a 3-0 lead. pic.twitter.com/8S9xYKrYEN
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) October 7, 2023
By all accounts, the standout Slovakian prospect is going to stay with the Devils for the rest of the season, for better or for worse.
Nemec was arguably the Devils' best defenseman following Dougie Hamilton's injury last year, but it has been clear he's not at 100% - mentally or perhaps physically - after a summer shoulder injury. That was clear from Game 1, and now it's March.
If Devils fans want New Jersey to continue to be a place players want to play and win at, they must be wary of their online toxicity towards Nemec and other young players. There's no use in offloading pent-up frustration on 21-year-olds with a season that has been over since, quite frankly, the start of 2025.