The New Jersey Devils' defensive depth may face an early test

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Today’s post was written by ALEX CHAUVANCY. You can find Alex on Twitter @AlexC_THW.

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The 2021-22 regular season has yet to begin and the New Jersey Devils are already dealing with the injury bug. That's especially true on defense, where Ty Smith and Damon Severson have missed most of training camp with injuries. 

Smith skated at Friday's practice while Severson has yet to skate. Each may be unavailable to begin the regular season, which starts on Oct. 15 against the Chicago Blackhawks. If so, the Devils' defensive depth will get tested early on. 

Smith and Severson were expected to fill in as the Devils' second defense pair behind Ryan Graves and Dougie Hamilton. Head coach Lindy Ruff potentially starting the season without half or all of his second defense unit isn't ideal.

That'd likely increase the roles of Jonas Siegenthaler and P.K. Subban for a bit, leaving Ruff with some decisions to make as to who fills out the third pair.

He'll have some options internally but it'd also be wise to keep an eye on what should be an active waiver wire over the next 24 hours. 

Internal Options

The Devils gave quite a few defensemen looks during the five preseason games they played. Among the notables were prospects Kevin Bahl, Reilly Walsh and Nikita Okhotiuk. But all three struggled to show they're ready for NHL action. 

Bahl finished the preseason with a Corsi percentage (CF%) of 46.7 percent and expected goals percentage (xG%) of 44.4 percent, while Walsh's CF% and xG% were 45.5 and 40.6 percent, respectively. Okhotiuk's numbers were even worse, as both his CF% and xG% were sub-40-percent. As a result, the Devils sent all three defenders to the AHL to begin the season with the Utica Comets. 

With the Devils sending their top prospects to the AHL to start 2021-22, that leaves Colton White, Christian Jaroš and THE Mason Geertsen as potential options to fill in for Smith and Severson. 

Jaroš and Geertsen play similar styles of hockey. Jaroš is 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, while Geertsen is 6-foot-4, 216 pounds. Neither will provide much offense, if any at all, but they add size and physicality to the blue line, which general manager Tom Fitzgerald seemed to emphasize this offseason for better or worse. 

As for White, he may offer the most upside of the three. He played very well against the New York Rangers in a 7-1 win a little over a week ago.

There's no doubt having Hamilton as his defense partner helped. But White appeared in a couple of games for the Devils at the end of 2020-21 and did not look out of place.

He's not going to light up the box score but he has more puck-moving ability than Geersten or Jaroš and should be able to do more in transition than either of them. Considering Ruff's system needs defensemen that excel in transition, slotting White into the lineup shouldn't be too difficult a decision. 

Don't Ignore Waivers

If the Devils aren't confident in their internal options, they can always look to waivers. A few teams have already placed defensemen on waivers, with the most interesting name available at the moment being Michal Kempny. 

Kempny's had a tough couple of years because of injuries. He tore his hamstring in 2019 and ruptured his Achilles while training before the 2020-21 season. His four preseason appearances were the first contests he played in since the playoff bubble in Toronto in August 2020. That's a long time to go without competing in games, especially when trying to make your way back from a significant injury. 

As you might have guessed, Kempny had a tough preseason; hence, why he's on waivers. But before his injuries, he was an effective offensive defenseman — his even-strength offense was worth an expected goals above replacement of 9.2 from 2017-20. 

Obviously the injuries are a concern for Kempny. He'll need time to find his footing after having not played in NHL games for almost 14 months. And it's possible he never fully regains his form given the severity of his injuries.

With that said, he might be worth taking a flier on with a waiver claim. He's in the final year of his contract at a cap hit of $2 million, so there's no long-term commitment. Though I could see his salary being a turn-off to most teams, the Devils have just over $11.3 million in cap space. 

Another name to watch is Olli Juolevi, who the Canucks are shopping on the trade market ahead of today's waiver deadline. If the Canucks can't find a trade partner for Juolevi, he'll likely hit the waiver wire, per Thomas Drance of The Athletic. 

Juolevi is a former top-five pick, but has struggled to crack the Canucks' lineup consistently. He played in 23 games last season and finished with an expected GAR of 2, which was right on par with his GAR of 2.1. He's still only 23 years old, so teams should be looking to scoop him up on waivers if he makes it there. A change of scenery for a young player like him could serve him well. 

By the looks of it, the Devils will likely head into the regular season with the defensemen they have on their roster. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't be keeping an eye on the waiver wire.

Kempny, and potentially Juolevi, won't be the only intriguing blueliners on waivers. And if there's an opportunity for Fitzgerald to improve the Devils' defensive depth ahead of the regular season, he shouldn't hesitate. Because it sure looks like their depth could face a test right away. 

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Advanced stats from Natural Stat Trick, Evolving-Hockey