For the first time in more than a decade, the New Jersey Devils headed into training camp shouldering the expectations of a surefire playoff team. Nothing that happened during camp will diminish those expectations. The Devils rolled to an undefeated preseason, finishing up with a 3-0 shutout of the New York Islanders on Friday (Oct. 6). The transition from camp to regular season happened as the team boarded the bus Sunday to head out for a team building/bonding trip. When they return to practice on Tuesday they will be down to 23 players and begin their journey in search of the franchise’s fourth Stanley Cup.
Final Roster Spot
Camp began with a roster of more than 23 players that were ready to play in the NHL. Despite the losses of Miles Wood, Tomas Tatar, Jesper Boqvist, Damon Severson, and Ryan Graves, the Devils still only had three spots up for grabs in camp, top nine right wing, seventh defender, and a final spot for either an eighth defenseman or a depth forward. Alexander Holtz quickly put a stranglehold on the right wing position having returned to camp stronger and faster, and demonstrating that he had spent his summer working on the areas the Devils had requested of him in exit interviews. Holtz is by no means a finished product, and there are still concerns about his puck management, but his talent is undeniable.
That leaves three players for two spots, Chris Tierney, Colin Miller and Simon Nemec. After practice Sunday, head coach Lindy Ruff indicated that carrying eight defensemen is ideal for practice because it allows you to form four distinct five-man units, which seemed to point towards keeping both Miller and Nemec on the roster. He followed that up by counseling patience with a young defenseman. He specifically praised Nemec’s growth over the past year and continued his pattern of saying that he still has areas in need of improvement.
“For any young defenseman you have high hopes for it’s best if you’re not playing him (in the NHL) to have him play (in the AHL). Have him play in situations that he doesn’t (regularly) play. If he’s a power play guy, have him killing penalties, have him playing 22, 24 minutes a game. The only way you are going to continue to grow is to get inside those game situations and be under duress and play in uncomfortable situations. Sometimes you can’t work that out but a lot of times you can and experience has taught me that for young guys to grow they need to play.”
– Lindy Ruff, Oct. 8, 2023
Based largely on this comment from Ruff and the fact that Nemec, unlike Tierney or Miller, can be shuttled between the American Hockey League (AHL) and the NHL without clearing waivers, he is likely the odd man out of the three. He has played well in the preseason but has not demonstrated that he can play mistake-free in the defensive zone and Ruff is reportedly loathe to start the season with two rookie defensemen. Unless the Devils have a surprise placement on injured reserve, it is safe to expect a late Monday afternoon release from the team indicating that Nemec has been assigned to Utica.
Avoiding Injuries
The Devils weathered the preseason escaping major injury to their indispensable players, however, they were not without some injuries. As usual, the team is very guarded about releasing details about the injuries, but Ruff did give updates on Sunday.
Erik Haula
Erik Haula has missed several practices over the course of the last few weeks. The team has always termed it as a maintenance day, which is not unusual for a veteran player, though rare at this time of the season. On Sunday, Haula was again held out of practice for what Ruff later termed a “nagging” injury. No further details were released other than he is considered to be day-to-day. There is no reason to believe that Haula would miss the opener on Thursday night.
Nolan Foote
Injuries limited Nolan Foote to just 29 minutes over two preseason games. The Devils had high hopes for him entering camp. Many believed he was the odds-on favorite to make the team as a depth forward that could provide size and grit to the bottom six. Unfortunately, he appears to have suffered an injury that has already caused him to miss significant time, and looks to have him off the ice for the foreseeable future. The team would not elaborate on the extent or nature of the injury only to say it was an upper body injury without a targeted date for return. Foote’s absence has opened up a roster spot for veteran Tierney as the injury cost the pair any meaningful preseason competition.
Keith Kinkaid
The Devils added veteran goaltender Keith Kinkaid right before camp began. He was supposed to add a veteran presence and insurance as a third or fourth goaltender in the organization in parallel to Erik Kallgren. Unfortunately for him, he was injured in the first preseason game against Montreal and has not yet returned. His injury is characterized as an upper-body injury and there is no projected date for his return.
Line Combinations
Throughout the majority of the preseason, the Devils’ top three forward lines have remained fairly consistent. Timo Meier, Nico Hischier, and Holz; Tyler Toffoli, Jack Hughes, and Jesper Bratt; Ondrej Palat, Erik Haula, and Dawson Mercer. As the season gets underway, this is likely to change. Ruff is not timid when it comes to mixing up his lines, preferring to find pairs that work well and then rotating single players onto lines. Of the three lines, the least likely to change is the Toffoli, Hughes, and Bratt line as it has maintained chemistry, or “chem” as Hughes termed it, throughout camp.
At practice, with the absence of Haula, Ruff reunited Mercer with Hischier and Meier and placed Holtz farther down the lineup. Last season, Holtz spent training camp paired with Hughes and Palat only to be shuttled throughout the lineup once the season started. Sunday, Ruff attributed the switch to not having Haula available and liking the connection between Hischier and Mercer. “With Haula not there for practice and with Nico and Mercer were really our best defending lines playing against all the top lines. They have a great connection, so kind of an easy switch for us to make,” He also confirmed that there will be more changes. “I think you are going to see inside of games that there are some pieces that will move around.”
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Training camp may not have had the drama of years past in trying to figure out who would make the team, but this season’s camp was still replete with competition within the roster and indicative of one of the deepest organizations in the NHL. When the team returns to the ice Tuesday morning gone will be the questions of roster construction, as the full team will be focused on the regular season opener against the Detroit Red Wings just 48 hours hence.
