Shutdown Or Shut It Down: Defenseless Devils Need Trade To Save Season
There were plenty of reasons for the Devils locker room to be euphoric following Monday night’s thrilling 6-5 overtime victory over visiting Vegas.
The injury-depleted Devils (24-18-3) showed heart in coming back from two goals down against the defending Stanley Cup champs, who came into the game as the league’s sixth-stingiest defensive team. With All-Star center Jack Hughes sidelined through at least the rest of the month, Tyler Toffoli had one goal in his last ten games before a meaningless marker at the tail end of New Jersey’s desultory 6-2 defeat to Dallas on Saturday. It must have jumpstarted something in Toffoli’s stick, because he completed his second hat trick of the season by finishing off Luke Hughes’ 2-on-1 feed 2:35 into the extra session to win the game. And, at this stage of the season, every point matters when you’re battling for a playoff berth.
However, despite the appeals from the “any way, any how” crowd, this game should have Devils fans petrified about their prospects for the remainder of this season. More specifically, the defense corps, stretched thin by injuries, continues to bleed Grade A scoring chances through puck management and coverage sins. And since the Devils’ goaltending has been shaky all season, too many of those chances end up in the back of the net.
Vegas, like Dallas, didn’t just punish the youthful Devils defenders—the misplays were universal. John Marino, the elder statesmen of Monday’s unit at 26, was on the ice for two goals against, at least one of which he couldn’t use the “playing his off-hand side” excuse. With Colin Miller out sick for the Vegas game, the Devils called up lefty defenseman Santeri Hatakka from AHL Utica so Marino could go back to his strong right side after struggling for three games on his left. Still, Marino was beaten to the net front off a Vegas rush by Colin Stephenson, who redirected Mark Stone’s flip past sliding Devils goalie Vitek Vanecek to give the Golden Knights a 4-3 lead.
None of the other four Devils defensemen recorded clean sheets either, with rookie Simon Nemec dinged for three goals against at even strength. Kevin Bahl got outworked behind the net by Vegas wing and Devils killer Jonathan Marchessault, who fed a wide open Nicolas Roy in the slot to make it a 5-3 game. The minor league Hatakka/Cal Foote tandem was so bad (14.4% expected goals for percentage, per NaturalStatTrick.com) that Devils Head Coach Lindy Ruff went down to five d-men early in the third period, benching Foote after just one shift.
Sure, Miller should return shortly, and maybe Brendan Smith’s knee sprain will heal relatively quickly as well, but both of those guys are bottom-pair types. It would solve the bare minimum depth problem. That’s all. With Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler, last season’s top pair, both likely to be out for the season, the major minutes will still have to be supplied by New Jersey’s young defenders (Hughes, Nemec, and Bahl) who are prone to mistakes.
Unless Devils General Manager Tom Fitzgerald trades for a defenseman. Don’t get your hopes up—the market could be silly this year as so many teams are within a reasonable distance to make a push for a playoff berth.
The ideal target would be Calgary’s Noah Hanifin, a big (6-foot 3, 207 pounds) 26-year old who plays the more needed left side. However, he is looking at a big payday this summer as an unrestricted free agent, and that’s not a fit with the Devils’ current top-heavy salary cap structure. If Hanifin gets dangled in front of multiple bidders, the trade compensation won’t be worth it to New Jersey for a pure rental.
However, the Devils could then pivot to Hanifin’s teammate Chris Tanev, a true shutdown defenseman who has managed to post plus NST metrics this season on a losing team. Tanev, 34, is on an expiring $4.5 million contract, which the Devils could afford if they use the relief from long-term injured reserve for Hamilton and/or Siegenthaler.
Yes, he’s a righty, but Tanev would be an immediate upgrade over Miller and/or Smith on the penalty kill—he’s fourth in the league in blocked shots per 60 minutes (25 games minimum)--and would be a better complement to the inconsistent Bahl. Those two could mimic the shutdown role the Marino/Ryan Graves pair played last season.
It would also allow Ruff to roll with the Hughes/Marino duo that has the highest five-on-five expected goals for percentage among Devils D pairs this season (100 minutes together minimum), The Nemec/Smith third pair has to date outscored the opposition, 7-2, in the smaller sample size of 41 shared minutes this season.
Hughes and Nemec, high first-round picks in back-to-back Drafts, are clearly the Devils’ future, but they’re being rushed out of necessity to fuel the present. Ruff made an interesting point at Monday’s morning skate about how both players have never experienced the sheer volume of games that comes with every NHL season. Hughes has averaged a little over 24 minutes of ice time over the Devils’ last five games in an eight-day stretch.
That’s something you want a young player to learn how to handle without the daily pressure that comes with a team grinding hard for a playoff berth. It’s on Fitzgerald to alleviate such pressure. He tried looking at internal solutions; now it’s time to test the trade market.
Bring in that shutdown defenseman or, before the Devils realize it, it will be time to shut down the season.