On Friday the New Jersey Devils announced another round of roster cuts that included Andreas Johnsson, Nolan Foote, and Nikita Okhotiuk. With the regular season under a week away, the team’s roster is down to 16 forwards, eight defensemen and three goaltenders including Jonathan Bernier.
Fans know what to expect when it comes to most of New Jersey’s roster and while the third and fourth lines are slowly revealing themselves, there are still questions regarding the team’s depth players. Let’s break down everything we know ahead of the team submitting their final roster.
What We Know
Tatar Has Done Enough to Earn a Spot in the Lineup
Ahead of the team’s first preseason game against the Montreal Canadiens, head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed that 31-year-old Tatar is in the same boat as anyone else competing for a spot.
“I want to see him provide offense, and I want to see him win his battles,” Ruff said. “I think he’s in the same category as almost all of our players. You gotta have something to prove. If we want to get better we need every player to be better.”
The 31-year-old has delivered and was one of the team’s standouts during training camp. He finished the preseason with four points, and after Monday’s game, he spoke to the media and admitted that his performance last season really fueled him to come back even stronger.
“I’m feeling good [about my training camp],” he said. “I worked pretty hard during the summer to come here. To prove a point. I was excited and angered, which kind of drove me through the summer.”
Johnsson was Placed on Waivers
The most notable, and maybe surprising, announcement on Friday afternoon was that 27-year-old Johnsson was officially placed on waivers. He struggled at the end of the 2021-22 campaign serving as a scratch for the team’s final two games of the regular season. The Gävle native played alongside a few different teammates during the preseason including Jesper Boqvist, Graeme Clarke, Nathan Bastian, Yegor Sharangovich, and Jesper Bratt. He collected only one assist on Clarke’s goal against the Montreal Canadiens back on Sept. 26.
Ruff was asked what his assessment was of Johnsson earlier last week, and the head coach did not sugarcoat his answer.
“He is battling, battling hard to prove he should have an opportunity to make this team.” he said. “I think inside the games, he’s had some struggles. There’s been opportunities that have gone by him, but [we] are trying to give him every opportunity to find his game.”
Unfortunately, the writing was on the wall for Johnsson who has one year left on his contract worth $3.4 million. Early last season he was one of the team’s most productive forwards and if he is put on the right line, can be successful. Yesterday the 5-foot-10 winger cleared waivers, and now fans will wait to see what the next step is for the former seventh-round pick.
Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Nolan Foote: Go to the Utica Comets
The Colorado native was vocal about his goal to make the Devils’ roster out of training camp, and back on Sept. 26 he met with the media and shared that he was happy with his offseason, saying it was the hardest training he has done since he went pro.
Foote appeared in three preseason games for the Devils averaging a little under 15 minutes of playing time. Through the first two games he was invisible, but kicked things up on Oct. 6 having the second most shots on goal among forwards behind Clarke. The effort was there, but he was once again unable to put the puck in the net. My colleague Alex Chauvancy said it best: It’s not that Foote had a bad preseason, it’s just that he didn’t do much to stand out.
Fabian Zetterlund: Stay With the New Jersey Devils?
Zetterlund will be an interesting player to watch because if there is not a spot for him he will have to go through waivers. The 23-year-old appeared in 14 games last season earning eight points (three goals, and five assists). In the American Hockey League he played 58 games and collected 52 points, which was second-best behind Chase De Leo. This preseason he was quiet yet effective earning three assists. If the Devils place him on waivers there is a very good chance that he will be claimed, and at this time it is a risk the team should not be willing to take.
Jesper Boqvist: To Be Determined
Jesper Boqvist has the versatility that the coaching staff is looking for due to the fact that he can play both center and wing. It could be the one thing working in his favor, but even the 23-year-old admitted that his training camp has not gone exactly the way he hoped.
“It’s a little up and down, I feel like.” he said. “I feel like I can do better, and I always want to do better. … I’m just trying to have fun and work hard.”
The Devils will need to cut a few more players to get their roster down to 23 and it is safe to say that Boqvist is on the chopping block. Will it come down to either him or Michael McLeod for the fourth-line center position? Fans will get an answer to that question in the next couple of days.
I should note Tyce Thompson was also competing for a spot in the lineup, but suffered an injury last week during a preseason matchup against the New York Rangers.
Why Alexander Holtz is the X-Factor to the Make-Up of the Bottom-Six
How the final roster looks depends on where the coaching staff decides to utilize Holtz. The 20-year-old was given every opportunity to succeed since training camp began mostly playing on a line with Jack Hughes and Ondrej Palat. Thanks to the signing of Palat and the emergence of Holtz, players like Dawson Mercer and Tatar may have to settle for a bottom-six role, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it provides further depth.
Related: Devils Need to Keep Alexander Holtz in Utica for Now
At this point, it appears that he will start the regular season in a top-six role, but that does not mean there aren’t questions surrounding the former seventh-overall pick. If Holtz is unable to consistently impress in that position, and the coaching staff decides he needs more time in the American Hockey League, it could lead to Tatar or Mercer jumping up to one of the team’s top two lines. Furthermore, it would lead to a spot opening up in the bottom six for either Boqvist or Zetterlund to claim.
Fans know that Haula, Mercer, Tatar and Miles Wood have all secured a spot on the opening night roster. General manager Tom Fitzgerald has preached about his team needing to be tougher to play against, which would indicate that Nathan Bastian should continue to play on the team’s fourth line. That leaves Boqvist, Zetterlund, McLeod, and Mason Geertsen vying for the final available spots. Opening day rosters have to be submitted to the NHL by 5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 10 and New Jersey has three moves that will need to be made (not including Bernier) before then.