Mackenzie Blackwood was once seen as the future number-one goaltender for the New Jersey Devils. He was drafted 42nd overall in the 2015 NHL Draft and at that time, the Devils were in rebuilding mode. They had Cory Schneider as their starter and Blackwood was seen as his replacement when he was ready to be an NHL-caliber goalie. Fast forward three seasons later and he would become the backup to Schneider for the 2018-19 season. At this point, Schneider was becoming more injury prone and Blackwood needed to step in as the starter. He played well that season, but since then, he has gotten worse and worse with each passing season. Now, with the Devils already having two goalies under contract for next season, it seems his time with the organization is coming to an end. What went wrong and what does the future hold for Blackwood in the NHL?
Injury Prone
A major reason why Blackwood never worked out with the Devils is because he was barely playing. Early on, he played in 23 games during his rookie season when he was partners with Schneider, and the following season when given the starting role, he played in 47 games. After that, he never played in over 35 games again. As the years went on, the fewer games he played. In order, he played 35, 25, and 22 games to finish off the 2022-23 season. With so many injuries, this showed Devils’ management that they could not rely on Blackwood to be healthy for a full season. This is why they made the trade for Vitek Vanecek last summer. They wanted to make sure they had a solid plan in place in case Blackwood got injured and as fate would have it, he did. He was injured for two long periods of time this past season and that allowed Vanecek to get the majority of the starts and he played well during Blackwood’s absence.
Blackwood’s injuries also let the Devils see what they had in rookie Akira Schmid. Schmid played very well during the regular season and when the playoffs came around and all three goalies were healthy, Blackwood became the odd man out. When Vanecek played poorly against the New York Rangers, Schmid stepped in and helped them bounce back and win that series. Blackwood never even dressed as the backup in any of the playoff games, showing just how little confidence they had in him. His injury history really played a part in his downfall with the Devils, but it was not the only reason why he failed to live up to his potential.
Poor Team Play
During his time as the starter for the Devils, Blackwood had to play behind some of the worst Devils teams that had been iced in recent years. His rookie season was the year following the one where Taylor Hall carried the Devils to the playoffs, which led to him winning the Hart Trophy as league MVP. Hall played only 33 games during Blackwood’s rookie campaign and the Devils reverted back to what they were, a team with no direction and very poor defensive play. The defense had players like Andy Greene, who was past his prime, Will Butcher, who had a horrible season following his great rookie season, and others who were not NHL-caliber defensemen. You can’t blame Blackwood entirely, because for the majority of his time as a Devil, they were rebuilding and the team in front of him was lackluster with very little talent.
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The Devils have been rebuilding ever since they lost in the 2012 Stanley Cup Final. It had been almost a decade long and Blackwood played his entire career with those teams. The only good team that he was a part of was the 2022-23 Devils and he barely played for them because of injuries. When he did play, he was not good. He finished the season with a .893 save percentage. Even when the team was playing well, he was still struggling. He never truly got the chance to play with a good team in front of him. The Devils were bad and wanted to be bad so they could get high draft picks like Jack Hughes. As it seems his time with the franchise is over, it truly is a shame that fans never got to see him play for a good Devils team.
What Does The Future Hold?
The Devils already have the two goalies they want to move forward with in Vanecek and Schmid. With Blackwood being a restricted free agent this summer, the most likely scenario is they do not give him a qualifying offer and they let him become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. His five-season career in New Jersey will have come to an end and he would get the opportunity to play for another team for the first time in his career. Plenty of teams are going to be looking at the goalie market this summer and many of them will have interest in Blackwood. He is still only 26 years old and while he hasn’t been healthy the past few years, teams are still going to take a chance on him. His NHL career is far from over.
