On Sunday afternoon, New Jersey Devils forward Erik Haula banged a rebound shot past Philadelphia Flyers netminder Ivan Fedotov. The goal – which became the game winner – was Haula’s first goal in 29 games. He got his first point in 29 games during the period prior, when he assisted on Cody Glass’ goal.
Related: What Each Team Did at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline
On both sides of the puck, it was one of his strongest games of the season. Not only was he on the ice for all three Devils goals, but the Flyers didn’t have a single high danger chance in his 14:28 of ice time (via Natural Stat Trick).
This is exactly the kind of performance Haula, who has single digit goals and assist totals in 53 games this season, and his teammates needed on the heels of Jack Hughes’ devastating season-ending injury.
Yet when The Hockey Writers asked Haula about the heightened importance of defense in Hughes’ absence, the 33-year-old forward barked in response:
“I don’t know, you tell me, you’ve been chirping my goal scoring for the past couple months, so I don’t know,” said Haula.
It’s clear that Haula is his own biggest critic. He has a boulder-sized chip on his shoulder and his work ethic is seldom questioned. But when any player lays a goose egg in 29 straight games, they should expect it, at the very least, to be pointed out. He wasn’t the only Devil lagging behind in that span. Not even close. The production – or lack thereof – from the Devils’ bottom-six as a whole has been arguably the biggest contributor towards their mediocre 10-12-3 record since Jan. 1. That’s a .460 points percentage in that span, good (bad?) for 25th in the league.
All in all, Haula’s point production has dropped over 54% from 2023-24. According to NHL EDGE, his top skating speed has dropped from 23.45 miles per hour (MPH) last season to 22.89 MPH now.
Rono Hockey‘s data shows he’s in the 11th percentile in league offense and 2nd percentile in defense – a significantly below replacement-level player on all accounts. Last season, he was in the 51st and 76th percentiles, respectively – an above average forward on all accounts. It’s a complete 180.
If he retained even 80% of his production from last season, the Devils would have scored ~9-10 more goals and grabbed some much-needed standings cushion in what is now a tight playoff race. That hasn’t happened so far; and they’ve paid the price as a result. He did miss some time with an ankle injury, and it’s currently unclear whether that’s been a factor.
Things Looking Up for Haula?
The Devils gave Haula a three-year, $9.45 million deal after 2022-23 because he was the ideal third-line center during the Devils’ winningest single season of all time.
Even during this season’s struggles, he’s remained great in the faceoff dot and a focal point of the 4th-ranked penalty kill in the league. With the trade deadline over, there are a few reasons to believe that he can rebound the other facets of his game and revert to the impact bottom-six player the Devils have desperately missed, thus helping them secure a playoff spot.
First, his underlying numbers have been elite in these last two games. In 27:05 of even strength ice time, the Devils have generated 14 scoring chances, as opposed to just seven against. While not fully rebounded, his top skating speed over the last two weeks has increased from below average (22.19) to 80th percentile (22.89), making him one of the faster guys in the league.
This one’s got us Haula-ing. pic.twitter.com/WkLi86L7ZC
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 9, 2025
Head coach Sheldon Keefe’s trust has grown as a result, as he’s received just over 20% more ice time in the previous two contests compared to the first game without J. Hughes. He’s also stepped it up even more in the dot, winning 61% and 71% of his draws in the last two.
The line with Haula, Cody Glass and Daniel Sprong had an incredible 93.03 expected goals percentage (xGF%) against Philly, making it one of the statistically most dominant performances from a line in the NHL this season. Haula generated almost the same number of expected goals as both Glass and Sprong combined.
Lastly, he’s seemed to remain a leader despite the struggles. In a recent NHL film with mic’d up segments from the 4 Nations Face-Off, Haula was one of the more vocal Finnish players on the bench.
His linemate, Glass, spoke to THW after the game and praised Haula for taking him under his wing after arriving to the team. “(Haula) has been great,” he said. “He’s literally taught me every single system, every single thing, he’s just always talking to me on the bench and kind of making me feel more comfortable. And when I felt a little bit nervous in the third period, he was just talking to me and calming me down. So, he’s been really awesome. And, yeah, I can’t thank him enough.”
There’s no better time than the present for Haula to find his game again. They’ll need much more than a positive two-game sample, but if he’s climbing back into gear, this Devils team will have a great chance to make the playoffs and maybe even surprise some teams, sans-Jack Hughes.
