What We've Learned | THREE THINGS

Another season is in the books for the New Jersey Devils. The team completed the 2021-22 season Friday night. And in this edition of Three Things presented by Geico, we look at the three biggest lessons we learned about the team from the past season.

Hischier, 23, also took a big step forward in his progression. His 2020-21 season was plagued by injuries that limited him to just 21 games and the fear was that could hinder his development. Spoiler alert: it did not. Hischier set career highs across the board with 21 goals, 39 assists and 60 points in 70 games. He was nearly a point-per-game player and posted 36 points (13G-23A) in his final 31 games. But he also took a big step defensively, developing into one of the team's shutdown centers while continuing to grow as the club's captain and leader.
When building a team, there are two areas that you must develop. The first is strength down the middle (center depth). With Jesper Boqvist's late-season emergence and Michael McLeod's steadiness in the fourth-line role, New Jersey can check that box. The second thing a team must develop in a rebuild is goaltending.

2. (De)creased

The importance of goaltending can never be understated in the NHL. It's the reason the Devils signed Corey Crawford andJonathan Bernier the past two off-seasons to bolster the position and compliment Mackenzie Blackwood. Of course, neither of those players panned out with Crawford's surprise season-eve retirement and Bernier's season coming to an end after just 10 games.
New Jersey's goaltending situation is the truest incarnation of Murphy's Law (anything that can go wrong, will go wrong). In fact, the start of the season was basically setting the tone. The Devils used three different goaltenders in the first four games of the season, and none of them were Blackwood (Bernier, Wedgewood, Nico Daws). The Devils set two franchise records with six and then seven different goalies appearing in a game.
Blackwood was plagued by a heel injury that required off-season surgery and was slow to recover. He didn't play until November and that only lasted until he was shutdown Jan. 19 (before playing two of the final three games). New Jersey lost its top three goalies from training camp and were forced to turn to some AHL journeymen and young rookies to get through the season. The Devils leaned on Daws, a 21-year-old rookie, who at one juncture played 19 of 21 games.
There's no doubt the goaltending carousel was the biggest reason the Devils finished 28th in the league. Had Blackwood and Bernier been able to stay healthy and provide that 1a-1b tandem between the pipes, it's likely the Devils would have at least been in the conversation down the stretch. It was unfortunate and disappointing, but obviously the crease is an area that the team will look at in the off-season.

3. Pieces In Place

The Devils have certainly assembled a strong core of talent and players. Jesper Bratt was nearly a point-per-game player (73 points in 76 games). The team had four 20-goal scorers including Bratt (26), Hughes (26), Yegor Sharangovich (24) and Hischier (21). The offense improved from 28th in the NHL to 19th this season (even with Hughes missing 33 games).
On the blue line, Damon Severson had a career year offensively while also logging heavy consistent minutes (he appeared in 24 games where he played over 25 minutes). Jonas Siegenthaler developed into a great defensive defenseman. The club showed its depth on the back end.
Down the road, other players had strong showings. Forwards Fabian Zetterlund and Nolan Foote were arguably the team's best players in the final games. Defensemen Kevin Bahl and Nikita Okhotiuk looked like they're going to be solid defensemen in the future. And that's not counting Alexander Holtz, Luke Hughes or Shakir Mukhamadullin.
The Devils are still a few players short from competing for a playoff spot. But the pieces are certainly in place and the core is strong. Now it's about adding more pieces and, most importantly, staying healthy next year.