The New Jersey Devils exchanged speed for grit this off-season

David Mudrak takes a closer look at what was lost and what was added by Tom Fitzgerald.

Be sure to join the Discord channel to talk hockey with our writers and subscribers.

---

By David Mudrak (@MuddyOpinions)

As the draft and free agency drift into history, deciding what to write about becomes increasingly hard. Until training camp brings new developments, I am at the whim of any random news or creative ideas.

Luckily, a good friend and a dedicated reader of Infernal Access had a great idea - compare hit totals through the off-season moves.

I liked this idea. While thinking about it, I realized it would be interesting to look at both hits and speed with the new data from NHL Edge.

Using Money Puck, I gathered all of the hits by each of the notable players that are coming or going.

I then used NHL Edge to gather the top speed, bursts above 20 mph, and bursts above 22 mph for those same skaters.

Let’s take a look at the findings.

Physicality

Looking first at the hits – and especially the hits per game – it becomes clear that the data backs up what it felt like Fitzgerald was doing.

The Devils have added a lot of grit and should be a lot less easy to play against come October. 

Some of the team’s more physical players, like Kevin Bahl, Brendan Smith, or Michael McLeod, will not be back next year. While it did not always feel like Bahl used his size to punish opponents, he did end up finishing second on the team in hits with 151, following only Curtis Lazar’s 179.

The Devils’ physicality also took a hit when Michael McLeod was required to step away from the team. McLeod was on pace to finish first on the team in hits, playing at an 184 pace over an 82-game season. Overall, the Devils are parting with seven players who totalled 538 hits last season. 

However, even with three of the top six hitters on the team leaving, Fitzgerald has made sure to add to the number of hits the team is dolling out.

McLeod is the only departure who averaged more than two hits per game (2.24). Two of the six new additions to the team had an average of over three hits per game last season: Brenden Dillon (3.12) and Paul Cotter (3.07). 

In these two, Fitzgerald has brought in a whole lot of physicality. Dillon finished the year 1st in hits for the Winnipeg Jets while Paul Cotter came in 2nd for a physical Vegas Golden Knights team.

The additions of Stefan Noesen, who had 118 hits last year, and Johnathan Kovacevic, a 6’5’ defenseman who had 74 hits in 62 games, also shift the roster to a more physical style. 

In total, the Devils added six players who combined to throw 734 hits last season. Even if you remove Kovacevic, who will likely be the 7th defenseman, the team still finishes out with 660 total hits across just five new players. 

Speed