What Your Team Is Thankful For: New Jersey Devils

As the holiday season approaches, PHR will be taking a look at what teams are thankful for in 2023-24. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the New Jersey Devils.

Who are the Devils thankful for?

Ellen Weinberg-Hughes.

The New Jersey Devils have plenty of blessings to count this holiday season but they’ll be thanking nobody more than Ellen Weinberg-Hughes, the mother of their new franchise pieces on both offense and defense. Jack Hughes has forced his way into the very top echelon of NHL talent this year with a dazzling 14 goals and 39 points in 27 games. That’s a 118-point pace this season and brings Jack to a combined 112 points over his last 82 regular season games. Meanwhile, brother Luke Hughes has tallied 16 points through 32 games of his own this year, ranking second among rookie defenders behind Pavel Mintyukov, who has two more points in one more outing. Luke has looked dazzling through his official rookie season and is a favorite to challenge Connor Bedard for this year’s Calder Trophy. Luke will pass Dougie Hamilton for the scoring lead among Devils defenders with one more point, something that could come soon as he’s taken control of New Jersey’s top power-play unit in Hamilton’s absence.

Surely thanks to her own successes as a hockey player, Ellen has helped the Devils find the pieces that could carry the franchise for years to come. The sky is the limit for New Jersey if both Jack and Luke can keep up their strong play.

What are the Devils thankful for?

A hot streak.

New Jersey didn’t hide their struggles in November, falling to a 6-7-0 record that was marked by two separate three-game losing streaks. And while they’re still working their way up, the Devils managed a much more impressive December, kicking off the month with a 5-2-0 record before falling to another three-game skid. They currently sit at 6-4-1 through 2023’s final month – a fine enough record that could look much stronger if New Jersey wasn’t being outscored 38-to-33 through the month. The Devils have three more games through the end of December, including a matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets, who they beat 6-3 in their last meeting. Ending the month on a high note could go a long way in catapulting New Jersey forward in the new year.

What would the Devils be even more thankful for?

Good health.

The Devils’ season has been undermined by injuries since the start of the year, when they were quickly faced by injuries that held both Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier out of the lineup. Hughes returned quicker than Hischier, who has been in-and-out of the lineup and ultimately missed 11 of the team’s 32 games. Timo Meier has also fallen victim to injury, currently trying to play through lingering issues that have held him out of seven games this season. But it’s the blow to Dougie Hamilton that’s hit the Devils the hardest, with the top defender rumored to be out until the start of the playoffs. Hamilton was playing in over 20 minutes a night for New Jersey, and still leads the team’s defensemen in scoring with 16 points despite missing 12 games.

New Jersey has had to fight through the waves of injuries, relying on depth pieces like Erik Haula and Curtis Lazar to step up big when the team needs it. They’ve performed admirably but there’s no doubting that the team’s 17-13-2 record – which currently sits them outside of the Stanley Cup playoffs – wouldn’t look so sour if they were able to get more games out of their star players. There have only been seven games this season where Hughes, Hischier, and Hamilton appeared in the lineup together. New Jersey showed out in those matchups, going 4-2-1 and outscoring their opponents 29-to-27. They also added an impressive 56.8 CF% (Corsi-For percentage), showing the extent they’re able to dominant play when they have three of their most expensive contracts on the ice together.

What should be on the Devils holiday wish list?

An inexpensive goaltender.

The trade market for goaltenders is getting more-and-more crowded, which stinks for the Devils who have been searching for a new netminder since the summer. Vitek Vanecek’s -8.8 GSAx (Goals saved above expected) stat is the second-worst in the league, per Moneypuck, only behind Edmonton’s struggling Stuart Skinner. Backup Akira Schmid isn’t far behind him, touting the 11th-worst GSAx in the league. That’s all to say that the team’s goaltenders have not been their strong suit, which helps explain why the Devils are allowing the sixth-most goals in the league.

The Devils will gain $9MM in cap space by moving Dougie Hamilton to long-term injured reserve, money that should let them acquire any goaltender they may be able to get their hands on. But which options are available, and how the price will be inflated by a buyer’s market, is yet to be seen. If they can’t find an option on the open market before March’s Trade Deadline, the Devils may need to turn to minor league options like Isaac Poulter, who currently has the second-highest save percentage among AHL rookie goalies with a .920 in 14 games. Either way, something has got to give with the Devils’ weakest link if they want to meet their pre-season expectations.