3 changes the New Jersey Devils can make to save their season

The New Jersey Devils are supposed to be one of the best teams in the league. They have superstars all over the ice and most of them broke out in a big way last year.

So far this year, however, things haven’t been perfect. Injuries have a lot to do with it as guys like Jack Hughes, Timo Meier, and Nico Hischier have all missed significant time but are back.

They are also going to be without Dougie Hamilton for a while which isn’t going to make anything easier. Until they get him back, they need to have a few other guys step up.

If the Devils are going to be a playoff team and save their season, they need to do a few things a certain way. These are the changes that they can make to make sure they are playing in the postseason:

The New Jersey Devils need to address their goaltending situation right now

The New Jersey Devils have had some bad goaltending so far this year. It is a clear problem for the team. The advanced statistics and traditional stats suggest that a change is needed.

Vitek Vanecek has an 8-5-0 record with a 3.49 goals-against average and a .879 save percentage. Akira Schmid has a 3-5-1 record with a 3.27 goals-against average and a .891 save percentage.

Schmid has been a tad bit better overall but Vanecek has won a few more of his starts. They both need to be better as long as they form the tandem on the NHL squad.

There are a few options out there for them to consider. It is a move that must be done if this team wants to start winning with regularity again.

Simon Nemec is going to be a great New Jersey Devils player for a long time.

This change has already started for the New Jersey Devils. With the injury to Dougie Hamilton and the suspension of Brenden Smith, they called up top prospect Simon Nemec.

Nemec was the second overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. He is expecting to be a big part of the future on the Devils’ blue line. He didn’t make the team out of camp but not for any other reason other than development.

It seems to have paid off as he was incredible in his NHL debut. He shot the puck, he didn’t fear anything just because he was a rookie, and he looked like he belonged right away.

The Devils have had some incredible young players debut over the years. Jack Hughes, Luke Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Dawson Mercer, and Alexander Holtz are a few examples. None of them had a debut game as strong as Nemec.

Now, they need to keep him on the NHL team no matter what. Smith is going to be suspended for only one more game. When he comes back, Nemec should not be out of the lineup for Smith to come back.

With Luke Hughes and Kevin Bahl playing a lot, that is a lot of youth on the blue line but developing them is the most important thing. Nemec can also help this team win more than Smith. He shouldn’t play another game in the AHL if we are being honest with ourselves.