Nichols: Devils Should Roster Seamus Casey, Cut Jakub Zboril

NEWARK — The New Jersey Devils took one more spin on the Newark ice Sunday morning before they board their plan for Prague later that night. The Devils will certainly have decisions to make before they head out, such as who remains on the roster, and who will be cut loose. One thing is certain, however. The Devils should absolutely roster Seamus Casey and not think twice about cutting Jakub Zboril loose.

Let’s start with Zboril. The former first round selection, 13th overall by the Boston Bruins, only dressed for one preseason matchup with the Devils.

On Friday, Zboril took the ice against the New York Islanders on Long Island in what head coach Sheldon Keefe called a “close representation” of the roster you will see on the ice in Prague.

Regardless of the Devils’ injury issue at the moment, Zboril should be cut loose.

There are a few factors to consider here. One, the Devils are dealing with injuries to two of their best left-handed defensemen in Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce. Santeri Hatakka is another left defenseman who is sidelined with an undetermined timetable.

GO DEEPER: Another Devils Defenseman Potentially Injured; What It Means

Therefore, the Devils’ left side of the blue line is left quite thin. Jonas Siegenthaler and Brenden Dillon fill out two-thirds, yet there is no obvious replacement.

That brings us to Zboril who is on a PTO.

In the one and only preseason game Zboril dressed in, he looked out of place. The Islanders aren’t the fastest team in the NHL by any stretch of the imagination. Yet, Zboril was a step behind in foot speed and allowed attackers to skate right by him.

In fact, Liam Foudy didn’t have to do all that much to get by Zboril by chipping the puck up ice via the boards, flying by the 27-year-old defenseman, beating Jake Allen on a breakaway.

Zboril didn’t show much of anything as he was outworked, outpaced, and frankly a liability in his one audition which wasn’t even against a full NHL squad.

The Devils have players down in Utica who need to play every day to continue their development, such as Daniil Misyul and Topias Vilen. And when the Devils return from Prague — assuming Casey goes with them — the former Michigan Wolverines defenseman will need to play every day if he’s loaned to the AHL as well. There isn’t much sense in even giving Zboril a two-way deal.

The case for Casey to remain on the regular season roster doesn’t lie solely in Zbroil’s underperformance, however.

REQUIRED READING: Seamus Casey Impresses Devils Superstar & Coach in Roster Spot Bid

In fact, Casey has impressed Keefe with his all around two-way ability.

Casey’s been excellent in transition, distributes well from the blue line and creates offense, has been sound defensively with a good stick, and plays a physical style of game despite his smaller frame.

It’s true that Casey is a right-shot. However, the Devils would benefit more with one of Casey — or perhaps Johnathan Kovacevic, who has proven to be reliable — on their off side.

The Devils hope to get healthy sooner than later, but for now, Casey as opposed to signing Zboril is the team’s best option to ice their most proficient team.

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