4 traits the Devil should look for in deadline acquisitions – Hockey Writer – New Jersey Devil

It’s no secret that the New Jersey Devils need to add points to the deadline, especially when they get injured after Jack Hughes’ season is over. But the same breath, getting rid of the panic of despair could damage their future.

Related: Devil’s ideal post-trade deadline list

Therefore, General Manager Tom Fitzgerald only Their total number of views. This is the most important aspect the Devil is looking for when the ET deadline approaches:

The devil needs to finish

There is no problem that bothers the devil, not that the opportunity is not impossible to complete. According to Natural Stat Trick, they scored 21.65 goals the following Expected. If they were just a regular finishing team, they could have another four to seven wins, which would be a divisional playoff lockdown. They may even have been threatening the Washington capital metropolitan department.

In further context, the Devil ranks fourth in the league Expected Target every 60 minutes (XG/60), but 13th place Actual Every 60 targets (GF/60). Although Timo Meier had the biggest trouble in completing the game (less than expected 6.44 goals), the following players also had three or more goals: Stefan Noesen (-4.95) (-4.95), Jesper Bratt (-4.17) (-4.17), Erik Haula (-4.04) (-4.04) and Nate Bastian (-3.08).

In fact, of the 28 players this season, only 5 (17.9%) ended in the Devils’ game Better More than expected: Jack Hughes (+3.89), Seamus Casey (+3.60), Paul Cotter (+2.62), ondrej palat (+2.37) and Nico Hischier (+1.26).

The Devil hasn’t filled the gap left by Tyler Toffoli, who scored 26 goals for them in 61 games last season (+1.62 above expectations). As a result, they have been paying the price on offense and will benefit greatly from the acquisition with the added capability, especially Hughes goes out.

Requires speed

Last season, the Devil was one of the fastest teams in the NHL. Their average speed of 24.19 miles per hour (MPH) is the 93rd percentile (through the NHL edge). At 5V5, they scored 2.69 goals per 60 minutes (GF/60), ranking eighth in the league.

This season, their average speed dropped to 23.58 mph – below the league average of 23.62. It wasn’t just their goal scores that dropped to 2.35 gf/60, and ranked 20th in the league, down about 13%. Many of these troubles are due to the return of Haula, who has not recorded scores in 97 days (28 games). His maximum skating speed increased from 23.45 to 22.19 mph.

With Hughes (one of the fastest skaters in the league), they are even slower now. As a result, the devil is certainly a central market, perhaps even multiples. Those who allow one person to score can greatly help the team return to their status and succeed.

Division of punishment

The ability to be punished is often closely related to people with elite speed, but not always. The Devil’s Power Game is currently ranked fifth in the league at 27.2%. However, this is often to obtain exist Exert strength. Their 56 strong chances have ranked 17th in the league since the New Year. Even without hughes, they still scored 2 in a powerful game against the Dallas Stars.

Although players who receive free throws will not appear directly on the scoring table, it will usually lead to a target. Now, obviously, the devil still has to use common sense here. It makes no sense to trade players who are constantly punished but have no other actions. However, if two very similar acquisitions are reduced, then the huge difference in this category should make one more than the other.

Confrontation ability

Nico Hischier, Haula and Curtis Lazar are the only devils over 50%. However, most analysis shows that Haula and Lazar are net leaders almost otherwise, making Hischier the only reliable center in the DOT and On the score sheet.

And no opposite always Importantly, a significant standoff at a critical location can be the difference between moving forward or going home on the playoff time. We saw this in recent games when Haula lost a key draw, which led to a star’s win goal. Besides Hischier, there are others who can deploy confidently to win a draw in a high leverage position, which will be crucial.

There is no perfect solution

Not many players have it all Of these qualities, there are certainly some who have four or three. Check out this work for specially named targets, all of which are still available at the time of writing.

The next 24 hours are not only crucial to the Devil’s 2024-25 season prospects, but also to their future. As usual, please note Hockey writer Coverage for all your transaction deadlines.