In exactly one month, New Jersey Devils rookies will prepare for a Saturday night game against the Buffalo Sabres as part of the 2024 Prospects Challenge.
Meanwhile, the club’s veterans will be in Newark, preparing for the official start of the Devils 2024-25 training camp.
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With general manager Tom Fitzgerald’s acquisitions and signings, the players who will make up the roster seemingly appear set. Still, one thing to remember is that regardless of how many open spots are available, every player enters training camp with a goal: to take a spot from a starter, fight for a specific role within the lineup, or become the seventh or eighth defenseman.
Looking at the current roster, these three players face the most pressure when things get underway at RWJBarnabas Health Hockey House in mid-September.
NHL.com released their projected 2024-25 lineup for the Devils at the end of July.
With a new head coach in Sheldon Keefe, the exact line combinations will remain a mystery until the team’s season opener. Most can agree that the above 12 forwards are most likely New Jersey’s regulars, despite restricted free agent Dawson Mercer not re-signed at the time of publication.
Nathan Bastian is entering the final year of his contract and will need to earn his spot and play for a new deal. During his end-of-season media availability, he spoke about his 2023-24 campaign, which ended on Feb. 22 due to an injury.
“I honestly don’t think the timing of the injury could have been any worse,” he said. “Missing 25 games when the season picks up, and a lot of those games are important games, and not being part of that sucked.”
Through 54 games last season, Bastian scored five goals and earned 12 points. He averaged the lowest time on ice per game at 10 minutes.
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During a recent media availability, Fitzgerald mentioned Curtis Lazar being the team’s fourth-line center in 2024-25. The 29-year-old is coming off the best offensive season of his career and possesses all the characteristics his general manager is looking for. New Jersey also acquired Paul Cotter as part of his new look bottom-six in June.
If a young player like Nolan Foote or Brian Halonen hopes to jump from the American Hockey League (AHL) to the NHL, they will likely play a fourth-line role in New Jersey, and Bastian’s spot is the most vulnerable among the forward group.
The good news for the Kitchener, Ontario native is he plays with the physical edge and has the size (6-foot-4, 205 pounds) that Fitzgerald is looking for. He finished the season with 143 hits, second most among forwards behind Lazar.
The odds are in Bastian’s favor, but the pressure will be there to have one of the best camps of his NHL career to prove he can be an asset in New Jersey.
Injuries derailed the second half of Jonas Siegenthaler’s 2023-24 campaign. The Swiss defenseman broke his foot in January and sustained a concussion in March, limiting him to 57 games.
“It is never easy. You miss some time, and you have to find your game again,” Siegenthaler said during his exit interview. “(You) come back in, and then you miss time again. It is always hard for a player if you’re not in the groove. It was definitely challenging, but I tried to manage it as best as I could.”
The defensive defenseman earned nine points, but his overall play noticeably regressed.
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How the Devils’ defense will shape up is a question mark. Will Keefe keep Siegenthaler with Dougie Hamilton as the club’s top pair? How will Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon impact the defense, and most importantly, will Luke Hughes or Simon Nemec suffer the dreaded sophomore slump?
The Devils had two of their defenseman take a step back last season, and one of them was dealt to the Utah Hockey Club in June. If Siegenthaler does not return to his former self, Keefe and his staff will have internal options to replace him with Johnathan Kovacevic or Nick DeSimone.
There will be pressure on Siegenthaler to return to his former self, and with more veterans on the blue line, there will be more competition amongst the group for ice time.
Devils fans have been looking for a savior in net since Martin Brodeur.
The goaltending position has been one of New Jersey’s most significant weaknesses for nearly a decade with only temporary moments of stability from Cory Schneider, Mackenzie Blackwood, and Vitek Vanecek.
On June 19, Fitzgerald acquired his starting goaltender, Jacob Markstrom. The veteran earned a 23-23-2 record with a 2.78 goals-against average, a .905 save percentage, and two shutouts in 48 games in 2023-24.
Apr 6, 2024; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom (25) guards his net against the Edmonton Oilers during the third period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Markstrom understands the expectations surrounding his new team and the pressure that comes with his position.
“It is a big team with a high expectation and as a goaltending position, there is pressure on goaltending,” he said, “I have been on teams in Canadian markets, I know what is expected, and people that know me know that I just want to win hockey games. When we don’t win I’m the hardest (critic) of myself.”
With the goaltending being one of the team’s biggest concerns last season, there was going to be an immense amount of pressure on whoever Fitzgerald acquired. The team can’t afford to have another season slip away because of inept and inconsistent play in the crease.
Comment below which Devils players you think will feel the pressure when training camp opens next month.
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