Devils Need Siegenthaler to Bounce Back in 2024-25

A Jonas Siegenthaler bounce-back would go a long way in easing some concerns about the left side of the New Jersey Devils' blue line

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The New Jersey Devils will have a pretty different-looking defense in 2024-25, but it's not only Brenden Dillon and Brett Pesce who need to perform well. Of course, returnees to hold up their end of the bargain, too.

One of those players the Devils need more from is Jonas Siegenthaler, who struggled mightily in 2023-24. Barring something unforeseen, the Devils seem to be betting on Siegenthaler bouncing back next season. It's probably the right decision, and with some uncertainty on the left side of the blue line, they need it to happen.

What Happened to Siegenthaler?

No one will question that Siegenthaler needs to be better than he was this past season, but what exactly happened? The best way to figure it out is by looking at his microstats.

Puck skills have never been a plus of Siegenthaler's game. Even in 2022-23, he was not the best in transition. But that didn't matter much since his most common defense partner was Dougie Hamilton, who has elite puck-moving ability. He could make up for what Siegenthaler lacks in puck skills.

Where Siegenthaler's game took a dramatic dip last season was on defense. His rush defense, his biggest strength in 2021-22 and 2022-23, fell off a cliff. He went from being ranked in the 93rd percentile in possession entry prevention and 79th percentile in entry chance prevention to the 30th and 15th percentiles.

In simpler terms, teams had no trouble gaining the offensive zone and creating quality chances against Siegenthaler when he was on the ice. And it showed in some of his underlying metrics.

Siegenthaler's even-strength defense was worth an expected goals above replacement (xGAR) of minus-0.8 last season, so it's not like he was getting unlucky. He just wasn't playing well.

Rush defense isn't the only area where Siegenthaler struggled, either. He wasn't as successful on defensive zone retrievals, dropping from the 61st percentile to the 49th; his retrieval success also ranked in the 15th percentile. So not only was he struggling to defend the rush, but he was having trouble defending on dump-ins and opposing forechecks.

I have to imagine injuries affected some of Siegenthaler's results. Sure, he was struggling before he broke his foot blocking a shot in a game against the Chicago Blackhawks in early January, but that likely made matters worse when he returned. He also took a cheap shot from Matt Rempe in a game against the New York Rangers, resulting in him getting a concussion and missing more time.