Devils Have Too Much Grit & Not Enough Firepower

Scoring goals should never have become a problem for the New Jersey Devils, but an overemphasis on adding "grit" may be the main factor.

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"I wasn't worried about offense with this group," said New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald to reporters after free agency quieted down on July 3. "We have enough offense here."

Well, about that.

The Devils don't have enough offense. Far from it. Last night's 3-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights wasn't the only instance of a poor offensive showing. Offense has been hard to come by most of this season, especially at five-on-five, and that's with Nico Hischier in the lineup.

This isn't rocket science, but the Devils have too much "grit" and not enough offensive firepower. It's obvious and goes back to how they approached the 2024 offseason.

Devils Never Replaced Toffoli

I still would have done the Tyler Toffoli trade 10/10 times if I were the Devils. It's not his fault it didn't work out in New Jersey. The team around him just wasn't good enough.

Perhaps not everyone remembers, but Toffoli was excellent during his short stint with the Devils. Despite the lack of footspeed, he made up for it with his smarts and high-end shot. There's a reason former head coach Lindy Ruff stuck him on a line with Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes so often.

Toffoli had 26 goals when the Devils dealt him to the Winnipeg Jets at last season's trade deadline, making him the team's leading goal-scorer. He did exactly what the Devils hoped he would when they acquired him during the 2023 offseason, but they've yet to replace what they've lost in him.

That's not to say Fitzgerald didn't try. By all accounts, the Devils were close to signing Jonathan Marchessault last offseason before the Nashville Predators swooped in and offered him a lucrative deal. (That probably was a blessing in disguise in hindsight, though).

I'm not going to go over every single move the Devils could have made to sign or acquire a scorer this past offseason because we'd be here for a while. But long story short, losing Toffoli and not replacing him with another scorer is part of how the Devils have gotten to this point.