Fresh off a loss to the worst team in the NHL, the San Jose Sharks, who earned their very first road victory of the season, Devils fans are down bad.
In a game that was teed up on a silver platter for the Devils to smash and breathe confidence back into their up-and-down season and its fan base, which could have been a 4th straight victory, on home ice, prior to a long west-coast road trip, the team dropped the ball big time.
The Devils outshot their opponent 47-18, but somehow managed to give up 6 goals to a team that has only scored 6 goals in total as the visiting team this season.
That’s not good. And the embarrassing loss comes in tangent with a smattering of recent updates and a whirlwind of news. Let’s unpack…
Prior to the game, it was announced that Dougie Hamilton, who was injured against the Islanders, underwent surgery for a torn left pectoral muscle. Though the team did not provide a timeline, the word ‘indefinite’ was used. Dougie was placed on IR, and members of the media speculated a 4-6 month recovery timeline.
Best case scenario for his return sounds like playoff time, which is very much a question mark right now for this 11-10-1 team.
Tomas Nosek also officially joined Hamilton on the IR, as the team shared he re-aggravated a right ankle injury, which required surgery. He, too, is out indefinitely.
Brendan Smith was suspended two games for a slash on Flyers’ Travis Konecny, putting additional pressure on an already-lean defense.
In contrast to the negative news, there were a few positive updates and silver linings to draw.
Most importantly, $8.8M winger Timo Meier returned from injury to face off against his former team, and the team also shared that Erik Haula is likely to join the team on its upcoming road trip, a good sign he is close to returning.
Perhaps most intriguing of all the recent updates, however, is the call-up of 19-year-old blue-chip prospect Simon Nemec, as a result of the Hamilton injury and Smith suspension.
Nemec, as most fans are aware, was selected #2 overall in the 2022 draft, had a strong campaign in his first pro season in the AHL last year, and nearly made the team out of camp this year, though Lindy Ruff & Co. opted for veterans Colin Miller & Brendan Smith over the young and promising defender.
It made sense for Nemec to start the season in the AHL as the top defender in Utica, utilized in all situations to further develop his game, and also to keep the Devils from icing two rookie defensemen as part of their regular lineup in Luke Hughes & Nemec.
However, with Hamilton unavailable for the foreseeable future, it’s officially Nemec time in New Jersey, and he may have been one of the few silver linings in the San Jose game.
The rookie defender skated smoothly and confidently in his first-ever NHL game, tallying two assists and leading all Devils defenders in ice time. Nemec quarterbacked the 2nd power play, and the rookie tandem of Hughes-Nemec ended up skating together for quite a few shifts as the team looked for ways to spark the offense.
To me, Nemec looked like he belonged. Granted, the team played a poor opponent, but aside from a couple of lapses defensively, which are bound to happen for a 19-year-old defenseman, I thought he was arguably the Devils best defenseman on Friday night.
That said, the Devils are in a concerning position. This team has a couple of major issues: most notably how they defend, and in net.
As I’ve mentioned multiple times, the Devils defense core and team defense is simply not as good as it was last year. And predictably, without an above-average net-minder, both Schmid & Vanecek have been exposed as a result.
Both goaltenders have been inconsistent and bad, outside of a handful of performances. Unfortunately, adding a 19-year-old rookie defender is not likely to fix anything, and could actually make things worse defensively if we’re being honest.
So, what’s an underachieving team to do as the season rolls along and the situation becomes more dire?
Well, you can bet GM Tommy Fitz is working the phones and looking to make this team better.
One additional silver lining of the Hamilton injury and his recovery timeline: the Devils could use the LTIR rule as an asset.
While I am not an expert, here is how I understand the LTIR and its benefits for a situation like this: if a player is moved to LTIR, that player’s salary no longer counts against the cap for the tenure of that player’s time on LTIR. Also, the cap is only in ‘effect,’ if you will, during the regular season, not the playoffs.
So, the Devils could potentially move Hamilton to LTIR if they don’t believe he will be healthy at any point for the regular season, which would free up about $9M in cap space.
Obviously, this provides flexibility for the Devils front office to make a move. They could bring in a defender or goaltender (or both) with additional cap bandwidth, and not have to worry about being over the cap during the playoffs if/when Dougie comes back.
The Calgary Flames have been rumored to be shopping multiple defensemen. Unfortunately, a name that made a lot of sense for the Devils to pursue, Nikita Zadorov, was traded to Vancouver for a 3rd & 5th round pick. To me, that type of return for Zadorov is absolutely something the Devils could have competed with. Oh well.
Turning attention to the other two Flames defensemen – Noah Hanifin (26) and Chris Tanev (33). Prior to the Hamilton injury, Chris Tanev as a rental/placeholder made so much sense to me. A rugged, heart-and-soul player who has been consistently ranked a top 5 defensive defenseman the last few seasons, he fit the bill as a guy who could come in and clean up the Devils d-zone, provide depth, be a physical, veteran presence while Hughes & Nemec become more seasoned.
He still would be a great get, but in my opinion, with Dougie out of the lineup now, Hanifin is now the more desirable option. Hanifin is a top-4 defenseman on any team in the NHL – a two-way, top of the lineup defenseman who can provide big minutes and contribute on both special teams. Hanifin, at 26 years old, is also a better candidate to re-sign longer-term.
The problem is, I don’t know what the ask will be from Calgary. Hanifin is a premier player, but he is on an expiring contract, which works to the Devils advantage. What doesn’t work to the Devils advantage is the fact that the entire league is aware of the team’s defensive struggles and the pressure that is on them this season to be a contender.
As a fan, does parting with our 2024 first round pick get it done? Should we do that? I am definitely more open to that versus trading current players like Dawson Mercer and/or top end prospects like Seamus Casey.
Fitzgerald is in an unenviable position. On one hand – the Devils have Hughes/Nemec/Casey all arriving or soon to arrive, all of which will be major contributors on defense. Which means, this team shouldn’t need major personnel upgrades in the not-distant future as they begin (hopefully) contending for Stanley Cups.
On the other hand, this team is expected to win and contend now. And the defense needs an upgrade now. Hughes/Nemec/Casey are not saving us yet. So do you mortgage a longer-term potentially better roster in order to save the current season and avoid a step back? It’s not an easy answer.
What’s far less debatable is the state of the goaltending. The tandem has been bad, and really it’s not that surprising. The Devils goaltending was the biggest question mark going into the season. Vivek Vanecek, despite his great play last season, is not an elite goaltender and I don’t think anyone mistook him for the guy likely to take the Devils to the promised land. While Akira Schmid has had flashes of brilliance, and is still quite young, it seemed like a stretch to expect that from him this season also.
I stand by the Devils not being lured into giving up assets for Connor Hellebuyck in the off season, who is on the wrong side of 30 and seems like a good regression candidate before re-signing long-term in Winnipeg anyway.
But there are a few other names I have seen thrown around for consideration: Juuse Saaros, Jacob Markstrom, Jon Gibson, Jake Allen, James Reimer, & Kaapo Kahkonen.
Saaros seems unlikely and difficult to pry loose with the Predators recently expressing their desire to make it work long-term with their star goalie.
Markstrom falls into a similar camp – hard to get and also playing really well to the point where the Devils would be ‘buying high’ on his value and potentially have to part with more than they ultimately should.
Reimer/Allen/Kahkonen all seem a bit more reasonable. The latter two play for bad teams that will be sellers, and both Montreal & Detroit are carrying 3 goaltenders, so they both could look to move one. It shouldn’t take much by way of trade assets for any of the three, however, none of them inspire a ton of confidence. Allen and Reimer are playing well but both are on the older side. Neither of them have ever really grabbed a starter’s role for long stretches of their careers, almost always being viewed as solid back ups or 1b options. While you could say the same about Kahkonen, at least he is a bit younger and has a higher ceiling.
Which brings me to Jon Gibson. I really have no idea if he is even a possible candidate, but one can hope (dream?). At age 30, Gibson should have multiple years of elite play left in him. He has been vocal about the misery he has experienced in Anaheim in recent years, and wanting to be part of a winning franchise. He has a reasonable contract, and his current age does not jive with the likely window of contention for the Ducks, which could still be a few years away. Now would be the time for him to make a move, if his desire is to play winning/playoff hockey in his prime.
The Ducks front office should realize that, however, Anaheim has punched above their weight a bit this year, and management may feel more comfortable having the calming veteran in net to give their young roster a chance to win on a nightly basis. They may also be rosier on their contention window and keeping Gibson as part of those plans.
If I’m the Devils, I’m knocking on that door. I would give up a 2nd rounder and a prospect like Nolan Foote in a heartbeat. Does that get it done? Probably not? Does it take a 1st rounder? I really don’t know but I would part ways with a mid to late 1st round pick for Gibson.
Though I consider myself an optimist, and typically favor patience, I have seen enough through 22 games this year to conclude something needs to be done. There are parts of this team that seem broken, and we’re playing with the razor’s edge at this point. Things need to change, and quickly, if the Devils are to live up to the major expectations they worked hard to achieve.
It seems unlikely for anything to change in the immediate future, and the Devils have a tough stretch upcoming – a four game road trip through Vancouver, Seattle, Calgary, & Edmonton, before coming back home to host the Atlantic-division leading Boston Bruins.
Maybe this is a ‘low-point’ in the season. It seems reasonable the goaltending should have a positive mean-reversion at some point soon, and with the forward group getting healthy, there are plenty of veterans in that room to steer the ship, and plenty of offense to fuel a potent attack.
Let’s Go Devils.
Word Of The Devil 