Devils' Disaster Puts Them Up Dawson's Creek
The temporary misery fans felt from the Devils’ 4-1 defeat in St. Louis on Friday night took a back seat to the horror from watching superstar center Jack Hughes crash into the end boards during the first period.
Hughes, the NHL’s leading scorer with 20 points through 10 games, took a short shift following the spill before exiting to the locker room for good. While the severity of the injury, presumably to his shoulder, is not known as of this writing, Devils fans should prepare for a devastating diagnosis while praying for a more positive outcome.
To compound matters, the Devils won’t have center Nico Hischier for at least the remaining two games of this four-game road trip that continues on Sunday in Chicago. I didn’t need a medical degree to conclude that the Captain suffered a concussion from a blow to the head by Buffalo defenseman Connor Clifton on October 27. (Note: I’m not the first to state the obvious how disrespectful it is that hockey culture continues to divide injuries into upper and lower body compartments, even in this age where gambling is not only ubiquitous, but sponsored. If the NFL can list specifics so the public has equal information related to odds-impacting injuries, so can the NHL).
These hits (no pun intended) are potentially devastating for New Jersey’s hopes of building on last season’s success that saw the club finish with the league’s third-highest regular season point total and win its first playoff series since 2012. The league is so competitive that even a short-term skid can result in huge consequences when it comes to the year-end standings and potential playoff seedings.
It’s not like the Devils (6-3-1) have come out of the gate this season like gangbusters. Though currently sitting in second place, they’re just four points up on the seventh-place Capitals in the compacted eight-team Metropolitan Division.
No one the Devils play will be feeling sorry for them either. Losing Hughes and Hischier, two if their three primary play-drivers along with wing Jesper Bratt, immensely alters their capabilities at both five-on-five and on their league-leading power play. What those two former No. 1 overall picks do cannot be replicated, and upcoming opponents will be well aware of it.
In addition, a hidden cost of New Jersey’s rise into the NHL’s upper echelon is that the organization no longer boasts as deep a prospect pool as it once had due to salary cap and roster constraints. Gone are skilled players like Jesper Boqvist, who could have been a respectable fill-in in a lesser role (though he failed to make the Bruins roster and is toiling in the AHL). The Devils are most likely going to call up 33-year old Justin Dowling from Utica as they did in an emergency earlier in the season. Dowling has been a pro since 2010 and has registered all of 6 goals and 12 assists in 98 NHL games, a feat Hughes accomplished by Game 7 this season.
There is one hope for a player to step up to the moment: Dawson Mercer.
Somehow, the versatile Mercer, who tied a franchise record by scoring a goal in eight consecutive games last season, has gone pointless through the first ten contests of 2023-24. This despite starting the season in a top-six role and receiving 14:42 of power play ice time, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
Though demoted in the lineup, Mercer’s total ice time per game is actually higher than it was during his first two seasons in New Jersey, which made him a first-round pick (No. 18 overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft. Even as a rookie, he immediately impressed Devils Head Coach Lindy Ruff with his quick stick and ability to work in tight quarters.
Mercer put it all together last season in a 27-goal, 29-assist campaign. He was deemed untouchable when discussions with San Jose began before the trade deadline regarding star wing Timo Meier.
For whatever reason, Mercer just looks a step slow this season. He’s not creating turnovers like he used to or getting inside position to cash in on potential scoring chances. He is last among Devils forwards in NST’s expected goals for percentage metric at five-on-five. Ruff has moved Mercer around to try to get him going—top line, center, wing, etc.—nothing has worked to date.
Not to be overdramatic here, but if Hughes is out for an extended period, the difference between the Devils maintaining their status as legitimate contenders for the Division title versus needing to scramble at the end of the season just to secure a wild card seed could boil down to whether Mercer finds his game.
At least the Devils have been able to count on Mercer always being there to work on figuring it out—he has played in all 174 games since his arrival. The team has to hope that availability isn’t his only ability.