As the final horn blew, ending the New Jersey Devils’ brutal 2023-24 campaign, general manager Tom Fitzgerald knew he had to make changes. The team needed more than just a fresh coat of paint. Atop Fitzgerald’s “punch list” had to be a bonafide starting goaltender, more depth and physicality throughout the lineup, a new coach with a fresh outlook, and a reconstituted defense. By the end of the first week of free agency, he checked each off his list and entered the summer hiatus with a new, apparently improved version of the Devils.
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Fitzgerald may have checked off much of his punch list, but a few areas needing improvement remain. One of the leftover unknowns heading into this season is the power play. Last season, the Devils raced to the top of the NHL power play standings, converting nearly 40 percent of their opportunities. Then injuries struck, and they were unable to regain their form. The loss of Dougie Hamilton just 20 games into the season profoundly impacted the Devils’ power play.
At the time of his injury, the Devils averaged over 15 goals per 60 minutes on the power play, more than three goals better than any other team in the league. Over the next 62 games, that number dipped to under six goals per 60 minutes, and the team tumbled from first in the NHL to 30th (Per Natural Stat Trick). Even starker, from Jan. 1, 2024, through the day head coach Lindy Ruff was fired on March 4, 2024, the Devils played 26 games and scored only nine power-play goals while giving up four short-handed goals. In that time, they shot just under 7 percent, the worst in the NHL.
Power-Play Potential Unlimited
Turning the page to this season, the team is banking on an infusion of new ideas, structure, and talent to fuel a return to power-play success. Saturday’s practice marked the first time the team began to install the power play. New head coach Sheldon Keefe beamed when talking about the competition for spots on the power play, saying that the team had 10 forwards who could see time in the eight power-play spots. He indicated the team was currently working on the basic structure of the power play and would be installing the more nuanced looks as time progressed. He was especially effusive in his praise for free agent acquisition Stefan Noesen who he believes will give the team a strong net-front presence with the bonus of being a right-hand shot.
“I think if you watch the league enough, I would say that about 80 percent of what teams do (on the power play) are virtually identical across the league, and then you get some nuances that are different, that are player specific. The foundation, which is really what you’re going through on a day like today, on day one, is stuff that’s pretty familiar to them, and then you just start building it out from there.”
Sheldon Keefe, Sept. 21, 2024
Keefe is no stranger to power-play success. His Toronto Maple Leaf teams have finished no worse than seventh in the NHL in power-play percentage over the last three seasons and twice finished in the top three during that time. His ability to creatively unlock and coax play from his most talented players should be a huge boon to New Jersey’s power-play success this season. Finding ways to get Timo Meier back to his power-play dominance should be atop Keefe’s to-do list. He also has an influx of new players who will give him the ability to feature two formidable units and weather injuries as they come during the season.
Power-Play Units in Flux
Keefe was excited when talking about the different options he had on the power play. On the team’s first day, it worked with a first unit that most expected: Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier, and Dougie Hamilton. It would be difficult to find a more talented PP1 in the NHL, the question for that group is how to best make the pieces fit. Last season, the Devils struggled without Tyler Toffoli to find a triggerman to cash in on the open shots that Hughes provided. This season, the team will likely try to find ways to get Meier in space to get open shots and still have the ability to hunt rebounds around the net. With Keefe’s history of finding ways to get production out of players like Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and John Tavares on the power play, the Devils should have a good foundation and direction to make this unit one of the top five in the NHL.
Where it gets more interesting is the second unit. With Dawson Mercer just having arrived at camp and not being utilized immediately on the power play, the Devils deployed a unit of Paul Cotter, Stefan Noesen, Ondrej Palat, Tomas Tatar, and Simon Nemec. Keefe indicated that the team should expect Erik Haula and Mercer to be in the mix for playing time on that unit as well. Nemec appears to be the beneficiary of early-season injuries to Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce in terms of power-play time and will have the first opportunity to quarterback the second unit. The key to this unit will likely be finding ways to grind out dirty goals around the net and through winning puck battles below the goal line. Noesen is a fairly newcomer to power-play time but was productive for the Carolina Hurricanes, netting 10 power-play goals over the past two seasons combined. If he can demonstrate that he can be the net-front presence the Devils have lacked, he may earn time with PP1 as well.
The importance of finding goals on the power play is not lost on the team’s captain. “In this league, it’s so hard to score goals. So, a good power play can help you win games,” Hischier shared after Saturday’s practice. He also thinks the return of Hamilton will buoy the unit’s production and get them back near the top of the NHL. Dougie is a “Big part of our power play. He’s got a big shot, makes good plays, and we gotta make plays to find him so he can get it towards the net, and obviously, a righty (shot) is always a little different, too on top. So it’s good having him back.”
The team seems poised to recapture their early season success. Fans should closely monitor the development of the power play this preseason as it is one of the main tasks for the team to accomplish as the preseason evolves.
