Devils GM Could Be Forced Into Tough Decision

NEWARK—The New Jersey Devils went into the holiday break feeling pretty good about themselves. Certainly, that was for good reason. In their last tilt before a brief hiatus, the Devils hosted the wounded New York Rangers, and gave their rival a lump of coal for Christmas. Further, they’ve won their last two games and are 7-2-1 in their last 10 contests. Sitting in first place just before January has to have the locker room feeling confident, too. However, there’s still one glaring issue with New Jersey right now, and it could force Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald into a tough decision.

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It’s no secret that the Devils’ scoring depth has dried up. In fact, the Devils’ GM spoke about that firsthand when addressing the State of the Union.

“There are certain guys here that are buzzing offensively. When our power play doesn’t score or one of our top four lines don’t score, I think we need more from other people, quite honestly, contributing wise, without naming any names,” Fitzgerald explained. “There’s a reason why we’ve been shut out five times. Because when the first line or second line doesn’t score a goal or our power play doesn’t score, we don’t score. So we need guys to step up and start producing.”

Those comments by Tom Fitzgerald were made 10 days ago. Since then, Dawson Mercer scored a goal and two points against the Rangers and has four points in his last five games. However, he’s the only one in the Devils’ bottom-six who has contributed offensively of late, and it’s coming in bunches.

“It was great to see Mercer score the other night. Hopefully that’ll snowball. But, it comes in waves, it really does,” Fitzgerald continued. “And you’ll see certain guys jump on the wave and ride that for as long as they can.”

The last time someone in the forward group outside the top-six scored was on November 30th in a 6-5 loss to the Washington Capitals. Justin Dowling’s second period tally gave the Devils a 2-1 lead nearly a month ago.

Since then, it’s been all the Devils’ elites who have been filling the net with a couple of contributions from the blueline here and there.

Erik Haula scored his last goal on November 25th and has just one goal and three points in his last 25 games. Tomas Tatar hasn’t worked out like Fitzgerald might have hoped, scoring his last goal on November 23rd, and has potted just one in his last 20 games.

But, perhaps the most surprising cold streak comes from forward Paul Cotter, who last scored on November 12th, and has just one goal and two points in his last 20 games.

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Cotter knows he’s in a rut, too. He sat in his locker after the Devils’ 5-0 shutout victory over the Rangers on home ice, half joking with the media that he’s not allowed to talk until he puts the puck in the net again. However, he had just contributed to the victory in a big way, establishing the physical presence early by dropping the gloves with Vincent Trocheck.

Still, it’s been 10 games since someone other than Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and the rest of the Devils’ top-six forwards have contributed offensively. And as for the aforementioned cold streaks, said players continue to see the game ticker climb.

Is Fitzgerald in a rush to make any changes right now?

That’s unlikely. Even he’ll tell you he loves where the Devils are at right now, and it’s hard to argue with their recent play and position in the standings.

“But again, I think where we’re at right now, I love where we’re at, quite honestly,” Fitzgerald concluded. “The way we’re playing without the puck, defending first and limiting our opponents, especially coming through the neutral zone. In the past, it felt like it was Swiss cheese just allowing teams just to come through getting that entry. But now we’re very demanding of playing the right way in the neutral zone, we’re forechecking harder. We’re not one and done anymore like we used to be, and we still have that quick attack mentality. So it’s been good.”

But, how much longer can the Devils’ top players buoy the void in the bottom-six?

It’s a slippery slope to continue going in this direction. If Fitzgerald’s comments over a week ago didn’t garner any urgency from the Devils’ depth, Fitzgerald could be forced to swap some personnel. Perhaps, he could reach down into the Devils’ American Hockey League affiliate in search of a hungry forward looking to prove himself.

Or, perhaps Fitzgerald could be forced into a Devils trade to address a need, which could see one of the bottom-six forwards watching from the press box, or ultimately moved elsewhere.

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