As the NHL preseason nears a close, final rosters are beginning to take shape and teams are starting to have a distinct focus for opening night. For the New Jersey Devils, that means conducting their first practices where all potential starters are playing together.
The Devils significantly trimmed down their roster on Tuesday (Oct. 3), sending five players down to the Utica Comets in the American Hockey League (AHL): Graeme Clarke, Kyle Criscuolo, Chase Stillman, Daniil Misyul, and Erik Kallgren.
Clarke was definitely the surprising one here. He was initially viewed as a threat to make the team out of camp but underperformed significantly in the preseason contests.
With those cuts made, here were the main lines at practice on Oct. 3 (via Amanda Stein):
Tyler Toffoli – Jack Hughes – Jesper Bratt
Timo Meier – Nico Hischier – Alex Holtz
Ondrej Palat – Erik Haula – Dawson Mercer
Tomas Nosek – Michael McLeod – Curtis Lazar
Jonas Siegenthaler – Dougie Hamilton
Kevin Bahl – John Marino
Luke Hughes – Simon Nemec
Vitek Vanecek
Akira Schmid
On paper, this lineup looks like it could certainly compare to some of the NHL’s best.
Defensive Questions
Something that instantly stands out from these lines is that Hughes and Nemec are paired together. Head coach Lindy Ruff has previously been apprehensive towards having two rookies in the opening night lineup, so it’s certainly intriguing to see them alongside each other.
The odds are that Hughes will make the team no matter what. But we are currently unsure of whether or not Nemec will. He had two great games to start off the preseason, followed by a not-so-hot showing at the Prudential Center against the New York Islanders. The rookies spent the latter half of that game paired together, where they played well offensively but also committed some turnovers and lacked chemistry at times.
The pairing of Colin Miller and Nemec, who started out the New York Islanders game with each other, was not playing well at all. On the other hand, the pairing of Bahl and Marino played phenomenally. It would not be a surprise to see them become the middle pairing while Hughes eases himself in. If Nemec doesn’t make the team, Miller would likely play with Hughes on the third pairing.
Here’s what a potential defensive corps could look like come opening night:
Siegenthaler – Hamilton
Bahl – Marino
Hughes – Miller
This would be a good starting point where Nemec can come up from Utica at any point if he tears up the AHL. It would also let Hughes take on slightly easier competition at times.
Empty Forward Spot
From the beginning of camp, one of the main storylines was the empty forward position that was available for the taking. It now appears that Holtz is running away with said spot.
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The former seventh-overall pick in the 2020 Draft has shown much improvement in his skating speed, which has previously been his biggest area of concern. The result has been a goal in both games he’s played and some definite chemistry with Hischier and Meier.
If that line is able to have regular season success, it transforms an already stacked Devils roster into possibly the deepest team in the league. That would mean Mercer would slide down to the third line – the same player who scored 27 goals and 56 points last season. A line of Palat, Haula, and Mercer would almost undisputedly be the best third line in the league.
With Clarke now sent down, the only other viable options are Tyce Thompson, Chris Tierney, and Nolan Foote. Thompson has had a great camp, notching a goal and an assist as well as doing great work on the penalty kill (PK). He is waivers-eligible though, so he needs to make the team or he’s probably gone. Tierney has looked solid despite a lack of offense. Both will be solid depth pieces, but they don’t bring the dynamic that Holtz’s shot does.
Foote is an interesting option because he is also waivers-eligible. He has not recorded a point in either of his two preseason showings, but he’s shown flashes of NHL success in the past. With the Devils’ insurmountable depth, there’s a definite possibility that Foote and/or Thompson may have to move on from the organization. Foote was originally part of the Blake Coleman trade, which the Devils have already gained success from, using the first-round pick acquired to draft Shakir Mukhamadullin and then making him a main piece of the Meier deal. Thompson was the Devils’ fourth-round pick in 2019.
It will be interesting to see whether the Devils make cuts like these quickly (a la Clarke) or give guys like Tierney, Thompson, and Foote one or two more games to make a statement.
Special Teams
While the Devils were the third-best team in the NHL last season, their powerplay sat middle of the pack at 13th. With the amount of talent on their units, fans were left wanting more.
However, they will now potentially add four lethal options to their man advantage to start the season. They’ll have a full season of Meier and L. Hughes for the first time, and Tyler Toffoli was second on the Calgary Flames in powerplay goals last season with 10. Lastly, as long as Holtz is holding his own at even strength, he’ll be of great benefit to the powerplay.
A major cause for concern was the Devils’ second powerplay unit last season. They were quarterbacked by Damon Severson and virtually never cashed in. With L. Hughes quarterbacking, there will be more of a dynamic aspect to work with the man advantage. Unlike last season, the Devils don’t have to put all their eggs in one basket and hope that they score before the second wave comes on.
The fact that they’ve been infiltrated with so much talent that Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt can move down to the second unit…well, that speaks for itself.
The Devils’ penalty kill was very good last season – fourth in the NHL (82.6%). However, preseason is always a good time to test things out, which head coach Ruff did with Bratt, who does not normally play on the PK:
“…part of camp and preseason was to give him that opportunity, use that speed inside the zone, see if we can spend less time (in the zone) and at the same time give us a real good counter-threat if we do break plays up. I’ve liked what he’s done so far, he’s had good reads inside the zone, I think his quickness to get on the attack has been good. It just gives us something to continue to work on.”
– Head coach Lindy Ruff
If the penalty kill can stay the same or improve, and the powerplay can improve, the Devils are in a great spot.
Opening Night Nears
The Devils’ final preseason games – at home vs. the Rangers and away vs. the New York Islanders – are going to be very telling towards what we will see on opening night.
Keep an eye out for final cuts and some intense practices in the coming days, as the intensity ramps up. The Devils will kick their regular season off on Thursday, Oct. 12 at home against the Detroit Red Wings.
