Welcome to Devils Deep Dive, a new weekly look at some of the trends, observations, and other interesting tidbits associated with northern New Jersey’s hockey club.
The Devils returned from a COVID-19 shutdown with two impressive wins, but have since stumbled to three consecutive losses. There’s been plenty of improvement at the team level, but special teams (and to a lesser extent, secondary scoring) have been big problems. New Jersey is 6-6-2 with one-quarter of a compressed 56-game schedule complete.
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Let’s start with a look at individual players through the first quarter of the season. We’re going to use the 1-10 player rating scale that is popular in European football.
Forwards
Jack Hughes – 9
14 GP, 4 goals, 11 points, 12.46 Game Score (0.89 average)
He’s been fantastic, a consistent engine for New Jersey’s offense, regardless of matchups or linemates. Way ahead of schedule, after expectations were reset last year.
Jesper Bratt – 7
8 GP, 0 goals, 4 points, 5.28 GS (0.66)
Weird year — two trips to the COVID-19 protocol list — but has looked like a dynamic top-six forward, particularly next to Hughes.
Miles Wood – 7
14 GP, 5 goals, 8 points, 11.62 GS (0.83)
Production has slowed as expected, but a consistent level of success on the energy line could be the path to a long-term career in New Jersey
Kyle Palmieri – 6
13 GP, 3 goals, 9 points, 9.23 GS (0.71)
It’s coming, after a slow start. Two of his three best games of the season have been in the past four. He’s going to score plenty, though his contract status will get more attention during the second quarter.
Andreas Johnsson – 6
14 GP, 3 goals, 6 points, 10.5 GS (0.75)
Another slow starter, another guy who has looked really good next to Hughes (60 percent of the scoring chances, 58.88 percent of expected goals) and so-so away from him.
Michael McLeod – 6
14 GP, 3 goals, 4 points, 5.88 GS (0.42)
From looking overwhelmed in 34 games the past two years to 53 percent or better in all the important metrics this year, he’s done as much to solidify his potential as an NHL regular as anyone.
Nathan Bastian – 6
14 GP, 1 goal, 4 points, 7.0 GS (0.50)
Chemistry with McLeod is obvious, and he’s improved his skating enough over the past couple years that it isn’t a big weakness anymore.
Janne Kuokkanen – 6
13 GP, 1 goal, 6 points, 3.90 GS (0.30)
He had the three-point night, and he’s shown flashes of being a crafty playmaker, but finding a way to be impactful more consistently will be a key focus.
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12 GP, 2 goals, 3 points, 1.68 GS (0.14)
A strong start, then a lull, but he should get more chances — like Kuokkanen, flashes of a solid NHL forward, but more consistency is needed to earn a regular role.
Mikael Maltsev – 5
4 GP, 1 goal, 1 point, 2.8 GS (0.70)
Speaking of improved skating, he looks much quicker this year and coach Lindy Ruff clearly seems intrigued after giving him a few opportunities.
Pavel Zacha – 5
14 GP, 4 goals, 9 points, 4.06 GS (0.29)
Tied for second on the team in goals, second in points (only two at 5-on-5), but also negative underlying numbers at even strength. He’s been demoted on the PK.
Travis Zajac – 5
10 GP, 2 goals, 2 points, 2.4 GS (0.24)
He’s fifth among the forwards in expected goals percentage, despite a typical defense-heavy usage. Not the worst numbers on the penalty kill, but the Devils will need more from him shorthanded, too.
Nico Hischier – 5
3 GP, 0 goals, 0 points, -1.2 GS, (-0.40)
He had a broken leg and COVID-19. He’s going to be fine.
Nick Merkley – 5
5 GP, 1 goal, 3 points, 3.35 GS (0.67 GS)
The Devils need more depth scoring, and providing it could help him edge closer to regular status
Jesper Boqvist – 5
5 GP, 0 goals, 0 points, -0.25 GS (-0.05)
For the second straight year, a strong camp then a slow start. Only one rough game out of five, but needs to find an offensive niche.
Nikita Gusev – 4
11 GP, 2 goals, 3 points, -3.19 GS (-0.29)
Maybe the goals in the past two games will get him going. The Devils need more of his creativity, but he needs to earn more playing time.
Defensemen
Damon Severson – 10
14 GP, 1 goal, 7 points, 13.86 GS (0.99)
Seemed like a good candidate to excel in Ruff’s system. He’s been one of the 10 best defensemen in the league according to Dom Luszczyszyn’s Game Score.
An unreal pass from Damon Severson (@dseves7) leads to a memorable moment for Yegor Sharangovich. #NHLFaceOff pic.twitter.com/JpEVkdKQ8j
— NHL (@NHL) January 16, 2021
Ty Smith – 9
14 GP, 2 goals, 6 points, 13.02 GS (0.92)
Like Hughes, exceeding high expectations. Continues to impress even with increased responsibilities.
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Dmitry Kulikov – 7
13 GP, 0 goals, 1 point, 10.53 GS (0.81)
The points don’t matter — Kulikov has fit well in Ruff’s system and helped improve the even-strength offense while adding sturdy defensive play.
Ryan Murray – 6
11 GP, 0 goals, 2 points, -2.31 GS (-0.21)
Looked great early, but he and P.K. Subban have had some rough games together of late.
Will Butcher – 5
3 GP, 1 goal, 3 points, 0.87 GS (0.29)
Smith and Kulikov’s success is hurting Butcher’s chances to play regularly. He’s one of the six best defensemen on the team, but he needs the coaching staff to believe that.
P.K. Subban – 5
14 GP, 1 goal, 5 points -2.10 GS (-0.15)
Plenty of praise from Ruff, and better lately on the power play, but underlying 5-on-5 numbers suggest some of the same problems from a year ago.
Sami Vatanen – 4
Needs more games after immigration delay and COVID-19 list delay.
Connor Carrick – 4
Looked good early in camp, then didn’t play. Hard to say much after one game.
Matt Tennyson – 3
He had solid underlying numbers last year (relative to teammates), but that hasn’t been true in 2021.
Goaltenders
Mackenzie Blackwood – 10
7 GP, 4-2-1, .935 save%, 6.8 GSAA
He is fifth in Luszczyszyn’s Vezina Trophy rankings, and just needs more games to be a contender.
Eric Comrie – 6
1 GP, 1-0-0, .909 save%
Holds the franchise record for winning percentage.
Aaron Dell – 6
1 GP, 0-1-0, .902 save%
It’s only one game, but 37 saves and a little more help on the PK from matching Comrie’s record.
Scott Wedgewood – 5
5 GP, 1-3-1, .901 save%, -0.9 GSAA
From No. 3 to five straight starts, and maybe back to No. 3 with Aaron Dell’s arrival.
The 2020 trade deadline, a year later
Wednesday was the one-year anniversary of the 2020 trade deadline, the first for then-interim general manager Tom Fitzgerald at the helm. Fitzgerald made three trades on deadline day, and a total of five in the days leading up to it. He earned near-consensus praise for his work, which included moving four unrestricted free agents and collecting a significant haul for one player with an extra year of team control.
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Let’s revisit those deals, a year later:
Feb. 16, 2020: Devils trade Blake Coleman to the Lightning for Nolan Foote and a conditional 2020 first-round pick (via Vancouver)
Going out: Coleman, along with Barclay Goodrow from San Jose, were the final pieces in a championship puzzle for the Stanley Cup champions. Both players held extra appeal for Tampa Bay because they had an extra year of team control and inexpensive cap hits.
Grade: A
Coming in: Foote didn’t play after the deadline because of an injury, but he had a solid training camp with the Devils and has four points in his first six games with Binghamton. He’s playing on the top line for the B-Devils, and needs as much ice time as he can handle after nearly a full year without completing a game. He’s one of the club’s top three forward prospects, along with Alexander Holtz and Dawson Mercer.
The pick from the Canucks would have pushed to 2021, which looks like a potential top-five selection, had Vancouver not won a toss-up series with Minnesota in the Edmonton bubble. Defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin was a controversial selection at No. 20 in the 2020 draft, and will be a fascinating prospect to watch develop.
Grade: A-minus for process, though Mukhamadullin could swing the result wildly in either direction.
Feb. 16: Devils trade Andy Greene to the Islanders for a 2021 second-round pick and David Quenneville
Going out: Greene helped the Islanders reach the conference finals, acting effectively as the team’s No. 6 defenseman. He also re-signed with the club.
Grade: C-plus
Coming in: Quenneville is a depth defenseman for the B-Devils, but landing a second was tidy business for Fitzgerald given the market. The Islanders are a mid-pack team so far, just outside the top-four in the East Division. If the pick ends up in the top 45-50, that’ll be quite the return.
Grade: A
Feb. 24: Devils trade Louis Domingue to the Canucks for Zane McIntyre
Going out: Domingue played one game for Vancouver, and signed with Calgary in the offseason to be the Flames’ taxi squad goalie.
Grade: Zzz… okay let’s call it a C.
Coming in: McIntyre played four games for the red-hot B-Devils before the AHL shut down. He allowed three goals while winning all four games. He signed with Philadelphia in the offseason.
Grade: B
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Feb. 24: Devils trade Wayne Simmonds to the Sabres for a conditional 2021 pick
Going out: Simmonds had one point in seven games, and the Sabres had little chance of making a 16-team playoff. They almost lucked into the 24-team draw, but this was a bad process move.
Grade: D
Coming in: It ended up as a fifth-round pick, which isn’t bad for a goal scorer who had eight goals in 61 games on a $5 million contract (the Devils ate half to complete the deal).
Grade: B
Feb. 24: Devils trade Sami Vatanen to the Hurricanes for Janne Kuokkanen and a conditional 2020 pick
Going out: Vatanen was injured at the deadline, so Carolina got a bit of a discount, but also took a risk on when he’d be ready. Then COVID-19 happened, and he was ready to go in the Toronto bubble. The Hurricanes had less than 42 percent of the expected goals at 5-on-5 in his seven playoff games.
Grade: C
Coming in: The details on the conditional pick became a significant storyline for the Devils in the NHL’s return to play. It ended up as a third-round pick and New Jersey used it to select goaltender Nico Daws. Kuokkanen looks like an interesting player, with some work to do to be a regular moving forward. Two pretty interesting players for an injured UFA is pretty good.
Grade: B-plus
The future is now, part one
Jack Hughes has played a lot for the Devils in the first quarter of the season. He’s averaging 19:44 per game, which leads New Jersey and is 33rd in the league among forwards. Hughes has the three highest single-game totals for the Devils forwards, and five of the top six. He’s averaging 94 seconds more than the club’s next most-used forward, Kyle Palmieri.
Hughes is also 19 years old, and will be for the rest of the regular season. One thing about the 32 forwards playing more per game than him — they’re all much older. The youngest are Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk and Alex DeBrincat, who are all in their age-23 seasons.
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There have been 15 seasons by a Devils forward with more time on ice per game (the data goes back to 1997-98). The youngest was Travis Zajac, in his age-24 season (2009-10).
We don’t know if Hughes can maintain this pace, in part because of the compressed schedule and because Nico Hischier’s return should allow Ruff to no longer need his teenage center for 20-plus minutes some nights. If Hughes played this much over an 82-game season, he’d finish the year with the fifth-most minutes in an age-18 or 19 season. The top four are the second season for Steven Stamkos and Tim Connelly and Sidney Crosby’s first two years in the league.
| Team | Player | Year | TOI (minutes) |
|---|---|---|---|
Steven Stamkos | 2009-10 | 1685 | |
Tim Connolly | 2000-01 | 1642 | |
Sidney Crosby | 2006-07 | 1640 | |
Sidney Crosby | 2005-06 | 1630 | |
Jack Hughes | 2020-21 | 1618* | |
 Thrashers | Ilya Kovalchuk | 2002-03 | 1575 |
Jack Eichel | 2015-16 | 1549 | |
Vincent Lecavalier | 1999-00 | 1544 | |
Gabriel Landeskog | 2011-12 | 1526 | |
Patrick Kane | 2007-08 | 1506 |
Hughes’ late birthday (May 14, 2001) means he will play two full regular seasons as a teenager. Some players with earlier birthdays only get one, officially (Nico Hischier’s rookie year was his “age-19 season” because his 19th birthday was before Feb. 1 of his rookie year).
Here’s a look at the first 14 games for recent top-two picks after their 19th birthday:
Team
| Player
| Years
| TOI (per game)
| Goals
| Points
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alexis Lafreniere | 2020-21 | 14:42 | 2 | 2 | |
Jack Hughes | 2020-21 | 19:44 | 4 | 11 | |
Kaapo Kakko | 2019-20 | 12:28 | 2 | 4 | |
Andrei Svechnikov | 2018-20 | 15:49 | 1 | 9 | |
Nico Hischier | 2017-18 | 16:09 | 1 | 6 | |
Nolan Patrick | 2017-18 | 12:25 | 2 | 5 | |
Auston Matthews | 2016-17 | 17:13 | 6 | 12 | |
Patrik Laine | 2016-17 | 17:09 | 7 | 9 | |
Connor McDavid | 2015-16 | 17:58 | 5 | 17 | |
Jack Eichel | 2015-16 | 18:42 | 5 | 9 | |
Sam Reinhart | 2014-15 | 13:11 | 2 | 5 | |
Nathan MacKinnon | 2014-15 | 16:29 | 4 | 9 | |
Aleksander Barkov | 2014-15 | 16:51 | 1 | 3 |
The future is now, part two
Hughes isn’t the only young franchise cornerstone playing a lot for Ruff. Ty Smith is up to 18:53 per game as a rookie, but that is also trending up. If he held steady at 18:53, it would be the seventh-most by a rookie for the Devils since 1997.
Smith is fifth among the club’s defensemen in time on ice per game, but he’s been third in the past month (nine games, 20:44) and second in the five games (22:27) since New Jersey returned from the COVID-19 shutdown. He’s been paired with Severson, the team’s leader in ice time, and it’s clearly the team’s top pairing right now — Smith is averaging nearly three minutes more than Subban since the Devils returned and more than four ahead of Murray and Kulikov.
His per-game average over the past month would be the second-best for the franchise in the past 24 years behind Severson’s rookie year and his work since the shutdown would be the most. Smith is third in the NHL among rookie defensemen in per-game ice time, behind the Kings’ Mikey Anderson (Joey’s brother) and the Rangers’ K’Andre Miller.
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Smith has played 18-plus minutes in eight of the team’s 14 games. There are only two U-21 players in the league who have more such games: One is Hughes (11) and the other is Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin (14), who was the No. 1 pick in Smith’s draft class. (H/t to Devils’ statistician Craig Seiden for that note).
Welcome (back) to The Rock
Fans will return to Prudential Center on March 2, 357 days after the final game of the Devils’ 2019-20 season. New Jersey governor Phil Murphy gave the green light Monday, and the Devils sent information about ticket availability to the club’s season-ticket holders that afternoon.
The Devils are able to host approximately 1,800 fans. Black and Red members and premium partners will have priority access to tickets, which starts Thursday morning at 10 a.m. They have the ability to purchase tickets for every game or select contests. Any remaining tickets will be made available to the public Friday morning at 11 a.m.
Given how everyone needs to be spaced out, season-ticket holders won’t be guaranteed their usual seats. There will be fans in both the lower and upper bowls, but none will sit within 12 feet of the glass (20 feet next week, then 12 feet as soon as March 13). The smaller tarps with sponsors on them will remain in place (fans can’t sit there anyway).
Fans will be able to place mobile food orders with a limited menu through the club’s concessions partner, Legends Hospitality, with two pick-up locations, or in traditional, but socially distanced lines at 21 locations. There will be no eating on the concourse — fans must eat in their seats. The main team store, Devils Den, will not be open, but there will be one retail location open on the lower and upper concourses — orders will be made online and picked up at those two locations.
“That’s going be huge for us,” Hischier said. “Just having fans in the building, it’s a different feeling. We obviously miss fans at the Prudential Center. When you’re on the ice you don’t really realize it, but on the bench our fans can help give the extra energy sometimes you need in the game.”
Down on the farm
Dawson Mercer, who was indirectly part of the Taylor Hall trade that kicked off the Devils series of rebuilding moves, scored a hat trick for Chicoutimi last Thursday. Mercer had one goal and four points in five games since returning from the world junior championships, but he put together a week’s worth of highlights in a span of less than 22 game minutes.
Dawson Mercer makes his way to the slot with some nifty puck-handling to score his first of the game 🚨. #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/aI3skdaQoz
— Andy Lehoux (@Andylehoux1) February 19, 2021
Dawson Mercer comes out of the puck battle win with a nice backhander to score his 2nd of the night 🚨. #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/oZ8Ef7A7ix
— Andy Lehoux (@Andylehoux1) February 19, 2021
Dawson Mercer completes his hat trick after some great PK work 🚨! #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/QwQxX2Xkp2
— Andy Lehoux (@Andylehoux1) February 19, 2021
The third one, scored shorthanded, was a good synopsis of what makes Mercer an exciting prospect — NHL skill, but also the work ethic and smarts to be an excellent all-around player. Filling the Drummondville net gave him a hat trick against his former team, but it also helped his parents get to see both of their sons play.
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Riley Mercer is a rookie goaltender for Drummondville. He entered the game after Dawson made it 5-1, but also gave up three goals in 15:13. The two brothers posed for a pic on the ice.
Climbing the charts
Holtz’s girlfriend, Klara Hammarström, is a recording artist. Her new single, “Beat of Broken Hearts” debuted at No. 29 in Sweden, according to her Instagram page. It was No. 37 among most downloaded songs on iTunes Wednesday in Sweden, just behind “WAP” from Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion.
Hammarström has competed in the Swedish music competition “Melodifestivalen” each of the past two years. Her semifinal performance last year took place at Scandinavium, the Gothenburg arena the Devils played in at the start of the 2018-19 season. She has also had a leading role “Familjen Hammarström,” a reality show that focuses on her family’s exploits in equestrian sports and Klara’s burgeoning music career.
Top five …
The plan is to conclude Devils Deep Dive each week with a top five list. Most of them will be hockey-related. Some might not be. I’ll start with a fun one – my favorite games I’ve covered.
5. Game 1, 2008 Eastern Conference quarterfinals, Philadelphia at Washington
My first NHL playoff game, which came after a chaotic sprint by Washington just to get in the playoffs. Verizon Center was insane and the Capitals scored three times against the Flyers in the third period to rally and win 5-4.
4. (tie) Games 3, 4 and 6, 2010 Eastern Conference semifinals, Pittsburgh at Montreal
I’ve covered two Game 7s in the Stanley Cup Final (2009, 2011), but spending the first two rounds of the 2010 playoffs covering the eighth-seeded Montreal Canadiens take down Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby was unforgettable. Bell Centre was great in the first round, and a religious experience once Habs fans started to believe in the second.
3. 2014 Winter Classic, Ann Arbor, Mich., Toronto vs. Detroit
I’ve been to six NHL outdoor games, and this was the best one. From the atmosphere to the right amount of snow (Pittsburgh-Chicago at Soldier Field was too much) to a good game, which is usually what matters least at those events.
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2. 2019 NHL Global Series exhibition, New Jersey at SC Bern
Hischier is never going to forget getting to play at home and being serenaded by the Bern fans. It was an amazing trip, including the time in Hischier’s hometown and in Gothenburg for the game with the Oilers.
1. Women’s gold-medal game, 2014 Winter Olympics, Canada vs. United States
Simply one of the best hockey games ever played.
(Top photo: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images
(Wayne Simmonds photo: Ron Chenoy / USA TODAY Sports)
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