Category Archives: Analysis

Breaking down the Devils recent play.

Devilish Decisions: Alexei Ponikarovsky

Pat Pickens

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This is a series of posts on the Devils’ pending free agents (restricted and unrestricted). We’ll cover their strengths and weaknesses and end up with a final verdict on whether we think the Devils should re-sign the player. There will also be a poll at the end of each post so you guys can weigh in with your thoughts.

Position: Left Wing
Age: 33
2013 statistics: 30 games with NJ/2 goals, 5 assists, 7 points, minus-2 rating, 8 PIMs
Free-agent status: Unrestricted
2012-13 salary/cap hit: $1.8 million/$1.8 million (via Cap Geek)
Team history: Acquired in 2013 trade with Winnipeg Jets for conditional 2013 draft pick. Played in 33 games with the Devils during 2011-12 season, amassing 18 points.

What he brings: Ponikarovsky was a great checking-line forward in the Devils’ 2012 run to the Stanley Cup Finals. He scored a few timely goals this season and brings the always valubale “jam” to the lineup. ‘Poni’ also is a good dressing room leader and can play on any line.

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Devilish Decisions: Marek Zidlicky

Pat Pickens

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This is a series of posts on the Devils’ pending free agents (restricted and unrestricted). We’ll cover their strengths and weaknesses and end up with a final verdict on whether we think the Devils should re-sign the player. There will also be a poll at the end of each post so you guys can weigh in with your thoughts.

Position: Defense
Age: 36
2013 statistics: 48 games/4 goals, 15 assists, 19 points, minus-12 rating, 38 PIMs
Free-agent status: Unrestricted
2012-13 salary/cap hit: $4 million/$4 million (via Cap Geek)
Team history: Acquired in 2012 trade with Minnesota Wild for Nick Palmieri, Stephan Veilleux, Kurtis Foster and a third-round draft pick.

What he brings: There’s no doubt that the Zidlicky trade catapulted New Jersey to its deep playoff run in 2012. The Czech defenseman plays an offense-first game, in which he joins the rush and makes plays.  He was the Devils’ lone offensive defenseman in 2013, often plays the power play and can go end to end like few other ‘D’ in the league.

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Devilish Decisions: Steve Sullivan

Corey Griffin

steve-sullivan-ed-mulhollandjpg-52084cd129072b9dThis is a series of posts on the Devils’ pending free agents (restricted and unrestricted). We’ll cover their strengths and weaknesses and end up with a final verdict on whether we think the Devils should re-sign the player. There will also be a poll at the end of each post so you guys can weigh in with your thoughts.

Position: Left wing
Age: 38
2013 statistics: 9 games with Devils/2 goal, 3 assists, 5 points/minus-4 rating, 4 PIMs
Free-agent status: Unrestricted
2012-13 salary/cap hit: $1.85 million/$2.6 million (via Cap Geek)
Team history: Drafted by Devils in ninth round (233rd overall) in 1994

What he brings: At a time when a lot of players are petering out, Sullivan managed to find a niche role for himself. Despite his advanced age, Sullivan can still put the puck in or immediately around the net. He showed that during his brief return to the Devils, serving as a solid, if unspectacular third-line winger for a severely banged-up Devils squad. He’s also responsible enough in his own zone that he’s not a liability in that sense and given his experience Sullivan can basically fit into any NHL system and pick it up pretty quickly. Also, as shown by his salary/cap hit above, you get a lot of bang for your buck with Sullivan, who had seven goals and 17 points in 33 total games this season and is still a half-a-point-per-game player.

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Devilish Decisions: Jacob Josefson

Corey Griffin

Jacob Josefson

This is a series of posts on the Devils’ pending free agents (restricted and unrestricted). We’ll cover their strengths and weaknesses and end up with a final verdict on whether we think the Devils should re-sign the player. There will also be a poll at the end of each post so you guys can weigh in with your thoughts.

Position: Center
Age: 22
2013 statistics: 22 games/1 goal, 2 assists, 3 points/minus-10 rating, 2 PIMs
Free-agent status: Restricted
2012-13 salary/cap hit: $900,000 (NHL)/$900,000 (NHL) (via Cap Geek)
Team history: Drafted in first round (20th overall) in 2009

What he brings: Josefson is a sound defensive centerman. He’s the kind of player you can toss out on the ice on your third or fourth line and generally assume he’ll keep things in order and help lock down one of the opponent’s top units. He’s developed into a good penalty killer and spent a lot of time on the Devils’ PK units before being sent down to Albany in February. Josefson has good enough size (6-foot-1, 190 pounds) that he won’t get tossed around and can generally hold his own. The Stockholm native also has some nice hands and some undercover playmaking ability that shows itself now and again to be a real weapon.

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Devilish Decisions: Adam Henrique

Corey Griffin

Adam Henrique

This is a series of posts on the Devils’ pending free agents (restricted and unrestricted). We’ll cover their strengths and weaknesses and end up with a final verdict on whether we think the Devils should re-sign the player. There will also be a poll at the end of each post so you guys can weigh in with your thoughts.

Position: Center
Age: 23
2013 statistics: 42 games/11 goals, 5 assists, 16 points/minus-3 rating, 16 PIMs
Free-agent status: Restricted
2012-13 salary/cap hit: $525,000/$854,166 (via Cap Geek)
Team history: Drafted in third round (82nd overall) in 2008

What he brings: It didn’t take long to see the Adam Henrique package in full display. Henrique took the NHL by storm in his rookie season, coming up just short in the Calder Trophy voting that likely would’ve changed if the voting happened after the postseason. Overall, Henrique is a strong two-way centerman with some ability to play the wing. He’s responsible on the backcheck and unafraid of taking his game into the dirty areas that Pete DeBoer loves. He’s solid in the faceoff dot and has a quick enough shot that it sometimes can cause problems for opposing goaltenders. His biggest attributes are probably the ones you can’t measure. Henrique oozes intangibles on and off the ice. During last season’s Cup run and at times this year, Henrique showed a unique ability to find the puck — and the net — when the Devils needed it most. As DeBoer once said, “pucks just seem to find him.” He’s tough and has the leadership skills to one day take over one of the key positions in the locker room.

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Devilish Decisions: David Clarkson

Corey Griffin

David Clarkson

This is the first in a series of posts on the Devils’ pending free agents (restricted and unrestricted). We’ll cover their strengths and weaknesses and end up with a final verdict on whether we think the Devils should re-sign the player. There will also be a poll at the end of each post so you guys can weigh in with your thoughts.

Position: Right wing
Age: 29
2013 statistics: 48 games/15 goals, 9 assists, 24 points/minus-6 rating, 78 PIMs
Free-agent status: Unrestricted
2012-13 salary/cap hit: $3 million/$2.66 million (via Cap Geek)
Team history: Signed as undrafted free agent on Aug. 12, 2005

What he brings: Clarkson has developed into your prototypical power forward. He’s not the biggest guy (6-foot-1, 200 pounds) but he plays about two inches bigger than his bio. He’s strong on the forecheck and is one of those gritty “glue” guys that every team loves to have. He plays in all three phrases and also loves to get under the opposing team’s skin with the way he plays. The difference between the Clarkson of three years ago and the player that’s about to become an unrestricted free agent is scoring touch. Clarkson had always been a solid 10-to-15-goals per year kind of player until he finally reached the 30-goal plateau last season. Entering this season, there were questions about whether that was a fluke or whether he had legitimately reached another level of his development. Playing a full 48-game slate in the lockout year, Clarkson scored on a 25-goal pace and was constantly around the net, narrowly missing five to 10 additional goals over the course of the season.

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No Word Yet On Callups For Thursday

Pat Pickens

Johan Hedberg is starting in goal, the Devils don’t have anything to play for, so why not give a guy like defenseman Eric Gelinas a shot Thursday when Pittsburgh comes calling? Alexander Urbom made his season debut on Tuesday night against Montreal and did OK.

If Gelinas — who the Devils are awfully high on — wants to see what the NHL is really like, why not play him against an injury-riddled Penguins team with nothing to play for.

Now, if that Crosby guy returns, I might alter that opinion. But, give the kid– who will likely get the chance to make the team in camp next year– a shot. What’s the worst that can happen?

DeBoer Thinks Devils Deserved To Make Playoffs

The Devils were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention Sunday afternoon. On Monday, Pete DeBoer was asked if he thought the Devils “deserved” to make the playoffs.

Corey Griffin

He doesn’t come out and say the phrase “we deserved to make the playoffs,” but it’s pretty easy to read his meaning. I’ve never been a fan of players, coaches or fans talking about what was deserved or what should’ve happened. The fact is the Devils didn’t make the playoffs. Obviously, injuries to Martin Brodeur and Ilya Kovalchuk played a big part in that. The two missed nearly two months combined — a brutal thing to handle in a regular season, let alone a shortened one. However, this team was built poorly to begin with and both Lou Lamoriello and DeBoer mismanaged it at different points of the season. From the Stefan Matteau situation to not signing a veteran scorer before the season began, there were multiple missteps from a roster point of view. Would the Devils have made the playoffs in an 82-game season? Maybe. Maybe they would’ve overcome the injury issues and had more time to find some secondary scoring, but there’s always the possibility the Flyers and Hurricanes would’ve had time to turn it around. There’s no “deserve” when it comes to qualifying for the postseason. We saw 45 games worth of hockey from this Devils team in a 48-game season and they simply weren’t good enough.

Results Simply Not Coming For Devils

Pat Pickens

In talking with several Devils and head coach Pete DeBoer after their 2-1 loss to Toronto on Saturday, it’s patently obvious that they are playing well enough to win.

“We’re a confident team, we believe in ourselves,” forward David Clarkson said. “We have to continue to keep pushing and working hard every day.”

Still, six-straight losses– three straight in regulation– have left the Devils searching for answers.

One thing is clear, they’re not playing badly. New Jersey’s outshot its opposition 17 of the last 19 games but is 5-9-5 in those games, having scored only 40 goals in that stretch.

“We’re doing our share defensively,” goalie Martin Brodeur said Saturday. “Offensively, it’s just tough on guys. We’re getting the chances, we’re just not putting the puck in the net.”

Still, putting pucks in has proved problematic. New Jersey’s netted just two goals in its last three.

“We’re repeating ourselves here for the past few games,” forward Patrik Elias said. “It’s tough to win with one or not scoring any goals.”

“It’s frustrating,” forward David Clarkson said. “You’re there, you’re making the plays, you’re winning battles, we just seem to be on the other end of the bounces … we know what we’ve got to do, and we’ve got the leaders in the room to do it.”

Falling behind has exacerbated the problem. The Devils are 3-13-5 when allowing the first goal and are 12-1-4 when they score first.

“We’ve got to find a way in that first period to get the first goal,” DeBoer said Saturday. “The table was set for us, and we didn’t take advantage of it.”

Obviously, losing Ilya Kovalchuk– for a team that struggled to score when the star winger was healthy — has been devastating. But the club isn’t feeling sorry for itself, nor can it. New Jersey needs points and it knows that it must get them without No. 17.

The word “frustration” spread around New Jersey’s dressing room after Saturday’s loss. Not only were the players irritated, but the fans are losing their patience too. The sellout crowd booed New Jersey’s hapless power play, especially while the Devils failed to set up during a first-period five-on-three.

“We’re not winning games, we’re not scoring,” Elias said. “We’re not playing bad hockey, so it’s more frustrating.”

As the Devils’ PP has gone, so has gone their offense. New Jersey has not scored in its last 11 man-advantage tries and is 2-for-19 over their last seven games.

“When you’re not scoring, you focus on … getting more pucks to the net, getting more bodies,” DeBoer said. “We had to cash in on our power play … you’ve got to make hay this time of year.”

DeBoer’s tinkered with lines, he’s changed lineups, he’s benched players, and thus far nothing has worked. Still, Clarkson believes in the team’s resilience because he’s seen it.

“Last year, we had some bumps in the road as well,” he said. “It’s being a good hockey team, you learn how to guys being injured, you learn how to deal with pucks going your way and not going your way. That’s something we’ve always been good at as an organization. I think we’ll be OK.”

But with the Devils sitting in 10th place in the East, a mere three points behind the Islanders for eighth with 10 games left, it’s time to start making things work.

What Do The Devils Need To Make The Playoffs?

Corey Griffin

With the regular-season finale about a month away, most people’s mindsets are turning toward the playoff race and what it will take to make the postseason. I will admit that my mind is also focused on the playoff push, but unfortunately I am terrible at math — you know, being a journalist and all. Thankfully, James Mirtle of The Globe and Mail is mathematically gifted enough to put the pieces together.

Via The Globe and Mail:

With the average team now having played 32 games, or two-thirds of their season, it seems like a good time to project forward what teams will need to qualify for the playoffs.

In the East, it currently looks like the cut-off will be about 52 points, which is very low if you project it out over a full 82-game season (about 89 points).

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