New Jersey Devils Stock Up/Stock Down: Need More Effort Edition

It’s been a little while since our last New Jersey Devils stock up/stock down. They (participated) in their home opener, put together a few quality wins, and then soured it with a lack of effort in some losses. Since returning from Prague, the Devils have gone 3-2-1 and sit atop the NHL standings… for now.

Devils Stock Up/Stock Down

Stock Up

Paul Cotter

A large contingent, if not all, of Devils fans owe General Manager Tom Fitzgerald an apology after the questioning of the Paul Cotter trade. The start of his Devils career has been better than anyone could have imagined. He’s tied for the team lead in goals (5) and third in points (6), leads the team in hits (23), and has shown an ability to be an effective player anywhere in the lineup. Cotter’s game is reminiscent of former Devil Blake Coleman for his abilities as a speedy and effective forechecker who brings enough offense to be able to be moved around the lineup.

Paul Cotter is inevitable. pic.twitter.com/EYrB9Cwmpe

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) October 18, 2024

Stock Down

Effort

After the disaster that was the 2023-24 season, a lack of effort was certainly something we’d hope not to see under a new regime this year. But alas, that’s where we are three weeks into the season. The common denominator between the home opener against Toronto, the road loss to Carolina, and the most recent loss to Washington was they were all poor efforts. After the overtime loss to Washington, head coach Sheldon Keefe was very clearly upset with the effort.

“We lost every battle,” Keefe explained. “We were late [to the puck], and we lost every battle.”

Whether it be not winning puck battles, drive-by hacks at the puck, or simply just not having their skating legs, too often early in the season, the Devils looked uninterested at times in games. To see this happen eight games into the season under a new head coach is alarming, and their mentality needs to shift in the coming games.

Asked Dougie Hamilton what Sheldon Keefe is saying to the #NJDevils after the sloppy first period:

“Nothing good.”

— James Nichols (@JamesNicholsNHL) October 20, 2024

Stock Up

Penalty Kill

While the power play is a work in progress, the Devils penalty has been firing on all cylinders. They have been noticeably more aggressive, displaying a “power kill” style of play, and it’s working. They rank as the third-best PK in the NHL at 90.5%, having given up just two goals all season. It’s all led by Nico Hischier, who sets the kill up for success by winning the opening face off more often than not. That, combined with smothering the puck when it’s on the walls and pressuring the puck handler at the point, as led to a great deal of success when down a man.

Stock Down

Ondrej Palat

Safe to say it has not been a great start to the season for Ondrej Palat. He currently sits pointless on the season with a -6. Analytically, he’s been getting caved in most nights, regardless of what line he’s on. He and his fourth-line line mates were particularly bad in the road loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. Other than Kurtis MacDermid (who’s played one game) and Curtis Lazar, Palat is at the bottom in both Corsi % and Fenwick %, metrics that measure shot attempt %. It looks as though Keefe will try him next to Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt in an attempt to get him going, but it’ll start to get late early for him if his game doesn’t pick up.

#NHL GameScore Impact Card for New Jersey Devils on 2024-10-15:#NJDevils pic.twitter.com/DCE5dSokZu

— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) October 16, 2024

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