Devils News Rewind: Zadorov, Holtz & More

The latest on Nikita Zadorov trade rumors, Colin Miller nearing a return, Alex Holtz's usage and more in this edition of New Jersey Devils News Rewind

It's time for another edition of New Jersey Devils News Rewind. It may be early in the season, but the Devils already find themselves in the rumor mill looking for defensive help. 

Plus, Colin Miller is nearing a return to the lineup, Lindy Ruff's comments on Alex Holtz, and more to begin the new week that sees the Devils play three games. 

Devils Interested in Zadorov

Late last week, Nikita Zadorov's agent, Dan Milstein, said that his client was looking for a change of scenery out of Calgary. Early on Saturday morning, TSN insider Darren Dreger reported that the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks and Devils were among the teams with strong interest in Zadorov. 

Elliotte Friedman added to the reports on this week's edition of Saturday Headlines, stating that the Flames want to calm everything down to help themselves get leverage back in their favor and that there's nothing imminent regarding a Zadorov trade. 

There's definitely a fit for Zadorov on the Devils' roster. They'd have to figure out how to make his $3.75 million cap hit work. But their third pair is a weak link, and they could use a stabilizing defensive presence in Zadorov alongside Luke Hughes. 

On the flip side, the Devils' biggest weakness defensively is they need more puck-moving defensemen on the left side if Hughes is going to play the right. Zadorov would be another left-handed shot who isn't the most efficient puck-mover and is similar in style to Kevin Bahl and Jonas Siegenthaler. 

I'd have no problem with Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald acquiring Zadorov, especially if it's not at an exorbitant price. But Noah Hanifin may be the better fit from the Flames' defensemen for this Devils roster. 

His cap hit of $4.95 million is more problematic than Zadorov's, but the Devils should accrue enough space ahead of the trade deadline to fit in Hanifin. CapFriendly has the Devils projected for $7.315 million in deadline cap space, so it shouldn't be a problem. 

Hanifin is a mobile, puck-moving top-four defender who fits the style of hockey the Devils play under Ruff. A left side of Siegenthaler, Hanifin and Bahl is better than Siegenthaler, Bahl and Zadorov, in my opinion. They have enough left-handed defensive defensemen, so Fitzgerald may be better off staying patient and monitoring Hanifin's availability. 

Miller Close to a Return

We'll find out after practice today, but Ruff was optimistic that Miller would join the team on its upcoming road trip to Winnipeg and Pittsburgh. Miller, who the Devils acquired from the Dallas Stars this offseason, has not yet played in a regular-season game for the Devils. 

One reason why it might be wise to wait on trading for someone like Zadorov or Hanifin (the Flames probably won't pull the trigger soon, anyway) is to see how Miller fits with this lineup. 

There's no denying that Miller did not have a good preseason, but at this point, they need to find out if he'd be an upgrade over Brendan Smith, who has struggled quite a bit at five-on-five. 

Smith's expected goals percentage (xG%) of 40 percent is the third-worst among Devils skaters this season. The team is giving up an average of 2.78 expected goals per 60 minutes with him on the ice, the most among their defensemen. 

Smith may be giving the Devils quality minutes on the penalty kill, but he has been a liability at five-on-five. I would have to think Miller would be an upgrade, but he needs to play for us to find out. Doing so would also move Hughes back to the left side, which could ease some concerns about the Devils' defense if a Hughes/Miller pair works. 

Holtz's Usage Continues to Be a Storyline

This seems like it'll be a storyline for the foreseeable future, but Holtz's usage has become a hot topic on social media over the last few days. Ruff had some interesting comments about Holtz in a piece with Ryan Novozinsky yesterday (Nov. 12) that riled up the fanbase: 

"If you want to play more, don't get scored against" is an odd standard to hold Holtz to. One) It's clear the line of Holtz, Chris Tierney and Nathan Bastian is not working. That trio has a 24.13 xG% and a minus-3 goal differential. Holtz, without those two as his linemates, has a 53.3 xG% and plus-one goal differential. 

Two) it's not always his fault that the team gets scored on when he's on the ice. Sure, Holtz isn't the best player defensively. I don't think he ever will be, but that's not why the Devils used a top-10 pick on him. Rather, his goalies need to make a save when he's on the ice. Holtz's on-ice SV% at five-on-five is .863, the third lowest on the team. 

No matter how bad Holtz is defensively, I can assure you his defense is not bad enough to result in his goalies having an .863 SV%. Tyler Toffoli has an on-ice SV% of .857 and has been on the ice for 12 goals against, two more than Holtz. Maybe he should stop getting scored on, too?

That isn't a shot at Toffoli. We know he's a good defensive winger because he has been throughout his career. He's been on the ice for 12 goals against because goalies are not making saves during his minutes. 

I think it's a weird standard to hold Holtz to when other players have similar or worse goal differentials than him and have even been on the ice for more five-on-five goals against. Ruff has not once put him in a position to succeed, and the longer this goes on, the more likely it'll continue being a storyline. 

Quick Hits

• Updated: the Devils returned Max Willman to the Utica Comets yesterday (Nov. 11) afternoon. But it appears that was a paper transaction, so we’ll have to wait and see about Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes’ statuses moving forward.

• Šimon Nemec had a big night on Saturday, totaling two goals and four points in a 6-0 win for the Utica Comets. He's now up to six points in seven games this season and may be an option to improve the Devils' defense during the second half of 2023-24. 

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