When the New Jersey Devils acquired Tyler Toffoli from the Calgary Flames this past offseason, there were certainly a lot of expectations put upon him. Coming off a career year in goals (34) and points (73) in 2022-23, the entire Devils brass expected him to produce similar numbers. He’s certainly had his fair share of struggles, including a most recent six-game goal-less streak. On top of that, with the recent success of Yegor Sharangovich, who was dealt to the Flames in the Toffoli trade, many fans had been questioning whether or not the move was right for New Jersey. Fast forward to today, and it’s clear that Toffoli has been as advertised and is stepping up for this New Jersey squad.
In the last two combined games, Toffoli has potted four goals on 12 shots on goal. Three of those goals came in the dramatic 6-5 overtime comeback victory at home vs. the Vegas Golden Knights this past Monday. Not only did he score three times, but his third ended up being the game-winner in said overtime to cap off a thrilling win. It’s already the second hat trick of the campaign for No. 73, and he now is the first player on the Devils to reach 20 goals and is currently the team leader in goals. It’s not just the scoring that has played a factor, but Toffoli’s scoring game has had a big impact on the team’s success.
The Devils Benefit from Toffoli’s Scoring Game
Toffoli’s main part of his game is being a goal scorer. The Devils have a decent chunk of pass-first guys, and the acquisition of the right-shooting winger was exactly what this team needed. He has what I call a “nose for the goal” in that he’s not afraid to shoot the puck from wherever he is. When Toffoli is on his game, like he has been many times this season, he’s incredibly hard to slow down. Another good example of this is his first hat trick of the season back on Oct. 24, 2023, in Montreal vs. his former team, the Canadiens.
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On the first two goals, you can see that Toffoli has confidence in his ability to take shots from different areas. He has a good eye for where he needs to get that puck on the net, and it was evident in that game. That game was also the middle of a dominant stretch for the Scarborough, Ontario, Canada native. From Oct. 20-26, he would go on a three-game goal streak, tallying six goals and seven assists. His performances there led to him being named the NHL’s First Star of the Week for that week.
It would not be a surprise if Toffoli finds a way to earn another star of the week by the time we reach the All-Star break in a couple of days. Another noticeable point to make is that Toffoli has stepped up his play of late despite the amount of injuries to key guys. Jack Hughes, Ondrej Palat, Dougie Hamilton, Jonas Siegenthaler, and others are sidelined at the moment, and it’s certainly been a factor in the inconsistencies of the team. However, Toffoli has still found ways to produce, even when he gets demoted to a lower line. He was having success playing alongside those players as well, and once they come back, things will only get better for the veteran forward.
How to Keep Toffoli Going
As mentioned, Toffoli has had his struggles this season, including that six-game goalless streak that he snapped recently. So the question is, what can the Devils do to keep him playing the way he’s been of late? There are two ideas that they can try, and they’ve already done one of them. The first is pairing him with guys who can feed him the puck. In the game vs. Vegas on Monday, Toffoli was put on a second line with Michael McLeod and Dawson Mercer.
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That decision by head coach Lindy Ruff paid immediate dividends with the hat trick and overtime game-winner. It’s times like that where Toffoli should be paired with more pass-first guys. Sure, he can make plays as well as score, but he needs the puck on his stick a ton and take shots for him to be most effective. When Hughes eventually returns, Toffoli should be on his right side immediately. Hughes had the primary assist on all three of the goals that Toffoli scored in his first hat trick. Hughes can find guys wherever on the ice, and he’ll get Toffoli the puck in prime scoring position.
The other idea is to have Toffoli on the second power-play unit. That’s where he was vs. Vegas, and that’s where he should stay regardless of who comes back. Doing this will balance out the overall talent and scoring with both special teams units. Toffoli has played well on the power play with guys like Alexander Holtz, Mercer, and Simon Nemec around him. You don’t want to stop a good thing, and building chemistry is so important at this time of the year when you need to win games in a tight playoff race.
Toffoli is on pace to set career highs in goals yet again, and in a time when the Devils are lacking in offense, he has stepped up and helped this team find ways to get some crucial points and goals down the stretch. If he can keep up this level of play moving forward, he and the team as a whole are going to become dangerous once again around the NHL.
