Vetting Worthiness Of Devils’ Players Who Deserve To Join Hughes At NHL All-Star Game
A year ago, I argued that Jack Hughes wasn’t as deserving of the honor of the Devils’ sole All-Star nod as wing Jesper Bratt based on first-half performance. It didn’t make me popular, but I felt that Bratt made more of an impact in that sample.
This season. though, there’s absolutely no debate. Even as New Jersey has come back to Earth in the last month following a torrid 21-4-1 start, Hughes has been electric on the ice. His two goals in the Devils’ 5-3 loss to visiting St. Louis on Thursday night upped his season total to 24, good for eighth place among the league’s leaders. As many of his teammates have floundered during the club’s ensuing 3-8-2 tailspin, Hughes has soared above the morass, producing 11 goals and adding 4 assists—only red-hot Washington star Alex Ovechkin has found the back of the net more often in that span.
Now that Hughes is in his fourth NHL season following his No. 1 overall selection in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Devils turn into a very dangerous team every time he jumps off the bench—New Jersey has created 406 scoring chances at five-on-five when he’s on the ice, per NaturalStatTrick.com, the most in the league. When you consider he’s been stuck on lines with scoring jinxes like Erik Haula and, most recently, Tomas Tatar, for much of the year, allowing opponents to focus their defensive attentions solely on him, Hughes’ outsized production is even more remarkable.
In the past, the Devils, who still occupy second place in the Metropolitan Division, might have been rewarded with a second All-Star on the Division’s 11-man roster. Unfortunately, the NHL changed their rules so that the final three roster spots will be determined by fan voting, which means the Metro will probably end up with more players from marquee teams like the Rangers despite New Jersey’s edge (now just one point with a game in hand) in the standings.
But if the last selections were based on merit, would any of the Devils qualify anyway? Let’s take a look:
Nico Hischier:
Now on a five-game goal streak, the Devils’ captain has developed into an elite two-way machine, driving offense while diligent throughout the 200 feet sheet of ice. He’s been a stalwart on both specialty team units and is winning faceoffs at a 54.6% clip, good for 31st place among centermen who have taken at least 200 draws this season (a sore hand kept him off most faceoff duty in Detroit on Wednesday, but he took a pair of draws that went straight back to defenseman Dougie Hamilton to set up power play goals that were instrumental in New Jersey’s 5-1 victory). Unfortunately, the selections are tilted towards bigger point producers, and with guys like the Rangers Mike Zibanejad, and the Islanders Matthew Barzal all averaging over a point per game, Hischier’s resume is just a tad short.
Jesper Bratt:
If the All-Star cutoff point was at the tail end of the Devils’ hot streak, Bratt would have had a decent case to make up for what I viewed as last season’s snub. His 30 points (10 goals and 20 assists) ranked 25th in the league through December 9. However, he’s tailed off a little too much since, with just nine points in his last 12 games. He’s still an NST analytics darling, second in the league in five-on-five Corsi For percentage and fourth in expected goals for percentage among forwards with at least 200 minutes of ice time this season. It just hasn’t translated into enough actual goals.
Dougie Hamilton:
The defenseman’s numbers, both mainstream and in puck possession metrics, are great. It’s just the eye test that I’ve found troublesome. Hamilton is tied with Colorado’s brilliant Cole Makar for fifth in the league in points for d-men (34) and also holds fifth place in five-on-five expected goals for percentage (200 minute minimum). The gaffes, though, have been brutal, and too often they have translated into opposition scores—among the top 40 defensemen in the league in expected goals for percentage, no one has been on the ice for more five-on-five goals against than Hamilton (29). Devils Head Coach Lindy Ruff was none too pleased with Hamilton’s effort on Thursday, when the $9 million man took a minus-three and committed two penalties, the latter of which led to Rob Thomas’ game-winning power play goal that put the Blues up, 4-2. Still, the All-Star Game is made-for-TV, three-on-three event, and for that you want your most prolific performers. In the Metro, there’s Adam Fox of the Rangers and then there’s Hamilton. If it weren’t for fan voting, he’d be the Devils’ best chance of garnering a second All-Star.