Ideologies the New Jersey Devils can steal from the Stanley Cup finalists

Both teams lean heavily into their identity rather than trying to be something they're not.

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By JP Gambatese (@JP_Gambatese)

One of my favorite narratives that stems from the Stanley Cup Final is that GMs should aim to copy whichever teams are the most competitive. 

This season is no different, with a big chunk of NHL-watchers clamoring to have their teams mimic the two teams in the finals, particularly the Florida Panthers. For whatever reason, “copying” the Edmonton Oilers hasn’t been nearly as prevalent around social media. 

Generally, this results in shifts that negatively impact the teams around the NHL. For the New Jersey Devils, this was seen in a gradual alteration from prioritizing speed, skill, and finesse to being “hard to play against,” gritty, and more physical.

As much as those last few items are effective in their own right, the way the Devils went about it (sacrificing skill for grit instead of getting players with both attributes) generally neutered their offensive output in the back half of the season.

There are, though, a couple of notes that they can and should imitate from the two teams in the Final. 

Prioritizing a puck-moving defense

As is, the Devils have two high-level puck-movers on the back-end: Luke Hughes and Dougie Hamilton.

In the pipeline are Simon Nemec and Seamus Casey, who are capable, but are either likely to be moved (Casey) or on the outside looking in when everyone is healthy (Nemec). 

The Cup Final teams, however, have at least three defensemen who are able to get the puck up ice.

For the Oilers, they have two high-end puck-movers in Evan Bouchard and Jake Walman. John Klingberg’s entire schtick is exiting the zone through savvy passing or legwork, and he has been surprisingly effective in the postseason. Mattias Ekholm is capable in this regard, and even Darnell Nurse can be at times. 

The Panthers, meanwhile, are in a similar boat, particularly after they acquired another high-end puck-mover near the trade deadline in Seth Jones.

On top of him, Aaron Ekblad and Gustav Forsling are both effective in doing so. Niko Mikkola took a step forward in 2024-25, morphing into a defenseman more effective at using his legs to enter the offensive zone than anything else. Nate Schmidt is in a similar boat, as a quietly productive puck-mover himself.

One concept I’ve seen floated around quite a bit is the notion of moving Dougie Hamilton off the team, and I think that the two Finals teams are testaments to doing the opposite – lean into a blueline that can move the puck up-ice without issue, and the team as a whole will be overwhelmingly more dangerous.

Jonas Siegenthaler, Johnathan Kovacevic, and Brenden Dillon are all completely incapable of doing so, and Brett Pesce isn’t all that apt at it. At minimum, they need two elite puck-movers on the roster.

Committing to the bit