Devils' Noesen Could Be Sneaky Power-Play Weapon

Stefan Noesen's net-front presence on the power play could help the New Jersey Devils improve their man advantage.

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There are some obvious reasons why the New Jersey Devils went after someone like Stefan Noesen in free agency. At 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, he adds some size to the team's bottom six and will be harder to play against.

But those aren't the only areas where Noesen will help. He totaled 36 points in 2022-23 and 37 this past season and will add some scoring, too. And it won't just come at even strength. One area where he helped the Carolina Hurricanes score goals was on the power play.

Ten of Noesen's 27 goals with the Hurricanes over the last two seasons came on the power play, and he did it in a way that the Devils could use on their man advantage. Let's look at how he could help them improve their power play (with some video, too).

Devils' Power-Play Struggles in Recent Years

Aside from the year that Andrew Brunette was an assistant on Lindy Ruff's staff (2022-23), the Devils' power play has generally been a trainwreck over the last four seasons. After starting as one of the hottest man advantages in the league this season, it regressed to being one of the worst from around the time of Dougie Hamilton's injury right until the Devils fired Ruff and replaced him with Travis Green on an interim basis.

Of course, injuries played a big part in the Devils' power play regressing. Hamilton went down for the year with a torn pectoral he suffered during a game in late November. Even though he wasn't playing on the first unit, his injury loomed large later in the season when Luke Hughes struggled on the man advantage.

Injuries to Jack Hughes and Timo Meier didn't help, either. Meier didn't look like himself until around the coaching change because he dealt with double MCL injuries earlier in the season. Meanwhile, Jack played on one shoulder when he returned to the team after the All-Star Break.

Hamilton, Hughes and Meier not being healthy for significant portions of the season did not help the Devils' power play. But their absences/struggles weren't the only reason the team faltered on the man advantage.

The Devils had a mostly one-dimensional power play this season. It was pretty much get the puck to Jack and let him do some magic with it. There was a lot of standing around and not much puck movement, and those were just some of its struggles.

Another problem the Devils had, which has been the case for a few seasons, is that they don't have a reliable net-front presence to plop in front of opposing goaltenders and take their eyes away. For a brief moment in time, Nathan Bastian had some success in that role, but that was never a long-term solution.

Meier might seem like a fix for that problem, given that he scores plenty of goals from high-danger areas at five-on-five, but that's never been his strength on the power play. He's always been more of a threat to score from one-timer positions, as we saw in the final few weeks of the season when Green was the interim coach.

Aside from those two players, the Devils didn't have anyone else on their roster who could play a net-front role on the power play. Perhaps Nico Hischier could, but you want him in a playmaking role. And you're certainly not putting one of Jack Hughes or Jesper Bratt at the net front because that makes zero sense.

That should change with Noesen, however. Most of his ten power-play goals with the Hurricanes came from in tight or redirects in and around the blue paint. Here are videos of five of his ten power-play goals I clipped to give you a better idea of what Noesen could provide on the power-play.