Tim-ber! As Devils Season Continues To Crash, It’s Time To Chop The Deadwood
Last summer, Devils General Manager Tom Fitzgerald took a long look at his club that had set multiple regular season franchise records but got bounced by Carolina in the second round in five games. His conclusion: In order to survive the playoff gauntlet, New Jersey needed to be tougher to play against. Hence, Fitzgerald added some veteran pieces over the summer to help complete the mold.
65 games into the 2023-24 campaign, I think it’s safe to say that there are few NHL teams who are easier to play against than these Devils.
And it’s not because this team lacks players with grit or that injuries have deprived them of such players. Rather it’s because a club that once could roll out four forward lines without routinely getting run over suddenly had too many players who aren’t good at actual hockey, aka Deadwood.
And now that the season is slipping away from them, with the Devils (31-30-4) dropping their fifth game in their last six with Monday night’s 3-1 loss at the Rangers, it’s time to chop off the deadwood and replace them with younger, more skilled skaters.
Nolan Foote, 23, is apparently ready for action after missing all season with an undisclosed upper body injury, Graeme Clarke, 22, leads AHL Utica in scoring, and Santeri Hatakka, 23, already showcased big league defending in an earlier stint in New Jersey.
What’s keeping guys like these out of New Jersey’s lineup? Aged and rotting deadwood.
More specifically:
1) Kurtis MacDermid
What exactly was the purpose of trading for this guy? To act as a deterrent against goons like New York’s Matt Rempe?
Some deterrent. Rempe concussed a second Devil in the two meetings with his reckless elbow to defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler’s noggin at the end of Monday’s second period.
It’s hard to exact retribution when you’re (deservedly) stuck on the bench. Since his arrival after the Devils acquired him from Colorado on March 1 in exchange for KHLer Zakhar Bardakov and a 2024 seventh-round pick, MacDermid has suited up for all five contests—and has received over four minutes of ice time in just two of those games, with a high of 6:38. That’s what the average New Jersey winger gets in a period. Oh, and he’s taken three unnecessary minor penalties in his short stint here.
He’ll be turning 30 later this month, not 20, and this isn’t 1976. MacDermid shouldn’t be wasting a precious lineup slot.
2) Tomas Nosek
Granted, a November foot injury that required surgery set him back and he has only suited up for 21 games, but no other forward in the league has played more without recording a single point on the scoresheet all season. Nosek has played over 196 minutes, the equivalent of more than three games, and he’s been on the ice for two goals for, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
It would be something if he had been bringing a defensive presence to the battle, but the playoff-tested Nosek, 31, has been disappointing in that area as well. The Devils haven’t had much success using him as a penalty killer and his faceoff record (44.1%), including just one win in 10 shorthanded draws, has been unacceptable.
That prior Head Coach Lindy Ruff and now interim HC Travis Green have tethered prospect Alexander Holtz to a line with both MacDermid and Nosek is development negligence in the first degree.
And then they’ve wondered why Holtz has been having issues getting going. How about putting him with some players who have a chance to score a point?
3) Chris Tierney
Another one of the soon-to-be 30-year old team members who makes me think of the useless employee of whom the consultant in the film “Office Space” asked, “What would you say you do here?”
Tierney’s production in 35 games: 1 goal, 5 assists, sub 50% in NST advanced Corsi metrics. And it’s not like he was always getting MacDermid minutes—he’s seen plenty of time on third lines this season.
I think the organization had hopes Tierney could step into the role Michael McLeod vacated when he was arrested on sexual assault charges last month because of his defensive diligence and winning record (57.6%) on faceoffs. Except that required Tierney being an expert in carrying the puck.
Whereas Jack Hughes can make fans rise out of their seats when the puck touches his stick, Tierney elicits a collective groan.
4) Brendan Smith
I just…can’t.
Smith hasn’t been this team’s only culprit by any means with regard to the litany of puck misplays this season, but it just seems like the Devils are courting trouble in their own end every time he steps onto the ice. Among Devils who have played in at least 15 games, only Nosek has registered a worse expected goals for percentage than Smith, per NST.
He’s 35 and should have no future here. I can’t believe Fitzgerald sent down Hatakka for more of this. I’m sorry, but no sane Devils fan could have possibly agreed with that call.
Now, with their playoff hopes fading fast, they have an opportunity to fix it.