The New Jersey Devils did not expect to begin the season without Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce, two elite defensemen slated for top-four minutes. Next came the injury to their expected seventh defenseman, Santeri Hatakka, and the team had to resort to playing the first eight games of the schedule with a pair of right-shot defensemen who came into the season with a combined age of 40 and a combined 60 NHL games to their credit. Fortunately, Seamus Casey and Simon Nemec played well enough to allow the Devils to accumulate 11 points in those eight games, and Casey showed signs of a bright future.
After dropping a disappointing game to the Washington Capitals 6-5 in overtime Saturday night, head coach Sheldon Keefe and general manager Tom Fitzgerald determined that the Casey/Nemec experiment could not continue. They sent Casey to the franchise’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate in Utica for seasoning, calling up Daniil Misyul for his NHL debut. Misyul played a credible game for a rookie. Still, the Devils got embarrassed on home ice again, losing 8-5 to the Tampa Bay Lightning, who were playing the second half of a back-to-back and icing their backup goaltender.
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Needing help on the back end is not a surprise. Rebuilding the team from the crease outwards was one of the main goals of the offseason, and Fitzgerald seemed to find the veteran, stalwart performers his team lacked in Pesce, Brenden Dillon, and Johnathan Kovacevic. That, plus the expected growth from Hughes and Nemec and a return to form for the injured Jonas Siegenthaler and Dougie Hamilton, and the team was set to start camp with as formidable a defense on paper as any team in the league. That all changed when Pesce had a setback over the summer, followed by Hughes suffering a shoulder injury, putting both on the shelf to start the season. With their imminent return, Keefe can reconfigure his defense to make it a strength and no longer a liability.
Ham & Swiss
The Devils have iced Dillon and Hamilton as their top pair for the entire season. On paper, a stout defensive defenseman and an elite offensive defenseman should work. For a variety of reasons, the Dillon/Hamilton pair has not. The most straightforward measure of any pair is goals scored vs. goals allowed. This pair is the only of the three to have been on the ice for more goals against than goals for. They have allowed a staggering six goals against per 60 minutes of ice time. For comparison, Nemec and Casey allowed less than one goal per 60.
If Dillon is not the right fit for Hamilton, who should slot in next to him? Keefe has two legitimate options, Siegenthaler and Hughes. While some have talked about Pesce perhaps being a good match for Hamilton due to their history in Carolina, that pairing does not make much sense. First, there is no history of chemistry between them. In 175 games for the Hurricanes, they played 90 minutes together on the ice. Second, there is no reason to continue to play defensemen on their off-hand side.
At first glance, Hughes makes some sense. His puck-moving skills and ability to break pucks out of the zone are a good fit alongside Hamilton. The concern has to be that he isn’t ready to be the defensive side of the equation on a top pair. In many ways, he is too similar to Hamilton, at his best when pressing in the offensive zone and looking for ways to find gaps, taking chances to support the forwards, and always looking to attack. Indeed, as he matures, his careless play at the blue line will decrease, but for Hamilton to succeed, he needs a durable, play-killing defender who can be counted on to make the right play every time at both blue lines.
Enter Siegenthaler. The stout Swiss defenseman has arguably been the Devils’ best player this season, certainly their best defender. No defenseman in the NHL has played more 5v5 minutes this season than Siegenthaler. The most impressive stat considering his ice time is that New Jersey goalies have a .945 save percentage with Siegenthaler on the ice. Compare that with .835 with Hamilton on the ice; the need for a reunion is clear. There is also a history of success with this pair. In the only entire season where the two were teammates and healthy, they were an elite pair. Siegenthaler’s ability to kill plays and safely break pucks out of the defensive zone freed Hamilton to have a Norris Trophy-caliber season. That season, they had the third-best expected goals-for-percentage (xGF%) of any pair that played at least 800 minutes together (per Moneypuck).
Keefe is a known tinkerer. Using Hughes alongside Hamilton when the team has offensive zone draws or is chasing a goal makes a lot of sense. Returning Siegenthaler to Kovacevic when you need to kill off a game or shut down a line from time to time also makes sense, but when the team is rolling its lines and sending pairs over the boards in succession, the top pair should be the guys known as Ham and Swiss.
Free Agency Pays Dividends
Fitzgerald spoke a lot in the offseason about the team’s inability to box out, break out, and grind out wins. Once he made the trade for Jacob Markstrom, the focus turned to the defense. Having to use Kevin Bahl in the package for Markstrom and deciding to move on from John Marino, there was a big hole in the middle of the defense. Fitzgerald moved quickly, signing Dillon and Pesce for almost $10 million combined. They are the ideal second pair for this stage of the team’s development. Indeed, an argument can be made that Pesce is tailor-made to play with and mentor Hughes, which may be the case as the season develops. Still, the Devils need a second pair that can shut down other teams’ top lines right now and provide a disincentive for trying to cross the blue line and get to the front of the net. Dillon’s penchant as a hitter, Pesce’s ability to kill plays, and his reputation as a shot blocker will form the perfect shut-down pair.
Dillon told The Hockey Writers earlier this year that he spent a lot of time on the phone with Pesce this summer talking about their new team. He even joked that the sum of their New Jersey numbers adds up to 27, which is a storied number for Devils defensemen. The team needs a solid, steady second pair they can count on. They are a more talented version of the Ryan Graves and Marino pair that played well for New Jersey in their historic 2022-23 season. Dillon and Pesce bring over 1,500 NHL games of experience and have both played for very successful, defense-oriented franchises. The example and tone they can set by demonstrating attention to detail on their end is precisely what the Devils need to exit the rut where they currently reside.
The Young and the Restless
These two pairings leave three Devils defensemen for two spots: Hughes, Nemec, and Kovacevic. If it comes down to merit as to who will start next to Hughes, the nod should go to Kovacevic, who has consistently been the Devils’ second-best defenseman. In this stage of their careers, Kovacevic is a better fit for Hughes than Nemec and should get the first opportunity, but Keefe should not be shy to let the Hughes/Nemec pair have a chance to sink or swim at times and learn with some sheltered minutes.
The new defense additions should allow Hughes and Nemec to grow at their own pace and not have to shoulder the heavy burdens they were forced to carry last season. Developing these two key assets is vitally crucial to the franchise’s future. Teams cannot afford to miss on top-four draft picks, and thus far, the Devils look like they found gems in Nemec and Hughes. Luke needs a partner to protect the net and anchor the defensive responsibilities to thrive. Kovacevic has been up to the task. Despite playing 35 more minutes, thanks to Nemec, Kovacevic has given up fewer high-danger chances against and has five more even strength points.
Kovacevic may have turned over a new leaf or perhaps it all clicked while training in the offseason. Either way, the Devils have found a diamond in the rough in Kovacevic and should give him opportunities to continue to succeed. He has the makeup and skill to play with Hughes and should be the first choice.
The Devils need better-quality defensive play. The team should welcome the infusion of experience and raw talent with open arms as they try to reinvigorate their game. Lines and pairs are not carved in stone, but to give his team the best chance to sustain success, Keefe should go with Hamilton/Siegenthaler, Pesce/Dillon, and Hughes/Kovacevic.
