Devils Need to Improve Rush Defense in 2024-25
The New Jersey Devils need to fix their rush defense in 2024-25 to get back toward the top of the Metropolitan Division
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The New Jersey Devils needed to improve their defense from a player-personnel standpoint this offseason, something general manager Tom Fitzgerald addressed by signing Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon and acquiring Johnathan Kovacevic in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens. But that’s not all they need to do.
After being one of the best rush defense teams in 2022-23, they went to one of the worst this past season. Fortunately, that should change this coming season with some new faces and fresh ideas being brought in to help.
Devils' Rush Defense Collapsed Last Season
When I say the Devils were one of the best rush defense teams in 2022-23, I mean that. They ranked first in rush shots against, and they were in the top three or five in defending possession entries and exits.
That surely helped Vitek Vaněček, who had a career-best season, posting a .911 save percentage, and Akira Schmid, who looked like the team's future after posting a .921 save percentage in the regular season and almost single-handedly helping the Devils defeat the New York Rangers in Round 1 of the playoffs.
Unfortunately, that rush defense collapsed this past season. They ranked 29th in shots against and fell to the middle of the pack in possession exits against.
2022-23 Microstats:
2023-24 Microstats:
Oddly enough, the Devils' defensive microstats looked very similar in 2021-22. Was that a Lindy Ruff problem? Perhaps, because becoming one of the best rush defense teams in the NHL the one year Andrew Brunette was on the coaching staff seems like less and less of a coincidence as time progresses.
But regardless of whether that was a Ruff problem or not, the Devils need to improve their rush defense this coming season. Fortunately, the Pesce addition should play a significant part in that. He's one of the best rush defenders in the NHL and will play against top competition, too.
Given the additions the Devils made this offseason, Kovacevic probably won't be a regular in their lineup. But he ranked in the 84th percentile in entry denial rate last season. He will help improve the Devils' rush defense when he plays.
Luke Hughes may not be all the way there defensively, at least not yet. But at 6-foot-3, 185 pounds, and having elite skating ability, I'm pretty confident he'll become a sound rush defender in due time. Even as a rookie, he ranked in the 74th percentile in possession entry possession and 50th in entry chance prevention. That should only improve as he matures and gets stronger.
It'd also help if Jonas Siegenthaler bounces back to what he was at least in 2022-23. His strength is his defensive game, and he excels when defending the rush well. If he can return to form, that'd go a long way in helping a Devils team improve their rush defense.
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