Any hardcore NJ Devils fan knows that the Devils have won the Stanley Cup three times, but they’ve been to more playoff seasons as a losing team than a winning team. The Devil’s recent struggle is that they can’t seem to get in or stay in the playoffs. But what factors could have impacted that? Evaluating the stats of the team is a good way to find out. A big part of the Devils in the past has been goaltending. Martin Brodeur was one of the best goalies in NHL history, let alone the best goalie in Devils’ history. Brodeur’s legacy was followed by Corey Schnieder, Keith Kinkaid, and then Mackenzie Blackwood (the Devils’ current goalie). The Devils have struggled as a team ever since Martin Brodeur left as goalie.
Brodeur played 21 seasons with the Devils. Compared to the goalies that followed him, Brodeur’s stats are, to no surprise, much better. Brodeur led the Devils to five Stanley Cup Finals, winning three times. He also led the team to the playoffs seventeen times out of his twenty-one seasons played. The last time Brodeur took the Devils to the playoffs was 2012, also the last year they went to the Cup Finals, but the game against the LA Kings was a complete joke. Early in the first period of game six, a major penalty was called against the Devils, giving the LA Kings a power play. By the time the penalty was over, the Kings had scored three times and the score was 3-0. The penalty never should have been major, it should have been a minor penalty, giving the Devils a chance for a short penalty kill and the Kings wouldn’t have scored three times. If this penalty wasn’t called as a major the Devils probably would have had a better shot at a fourth Cup.
Schneider has taken the team to the playoffs once in 2017-18 with Kinkaid as his backup goalie. They didn’t do very well that time. Although he’s been in the Devils’ system for five years, Blackwood has only played for the Devils for two seasons. While very early in his career, he’s showing promising signs of improvement, giving Devils fans hope for the future. Schneider’s first three seasons with the Devils were very good, but his last four seasons have shown a decline in his stats. His goals against average has gotten worse season after season. In the 2017-18 season, his GAA was 2.93. The season after that, it went up to a 3.06 and then up to a 3.53. Fans are hopeful that he will overcome this sudden decline and rehab his playing to help the team. Kinkaid, while playing only for a short period of time with the Devils, showed promise but struggled enough that the Devils gave up on him. For example, his GAA with the Devils was increasing more and more with each season. The first year he played with the Devils, his GAA was 2.23, which isn’t terrible, but as he went along, it increased to a 3.36. He now plays for the Montreal Canadiens, and his GAA with them has gone up drastically to a 4.24. Mackenzie Blackwood, the Devils current goalie, has shown some improvement in his playing. His GAA is a bit high, in his first season being a 2.61 and then going up to a 2.77 in his second season. But he seems to be playing more games and showing improvement, which is giving the fanbase hope that he’ll be a promising goalie for the Devils in the years coming. The inconsistent play of the Devils goaltenders, while not the only reason for their struggles, I believe is the primary reason for their lack of success since Brodeur’s departure.
Goalies are a big part of a hockey team. Brodeur obviously had a positive effect on the Devils during the years he played with them. Meanwhile, Schnieder, Kinkaid, and Blackwood, while playing well at times, have failed to take the team to a title. But, their failure to obtain a title in the NHL wasn’t just on the goalies. Their bad play was an effect of the entire team not playing well. They not only were unsuccessful in scoring goals, but their defense wasn’t on point as well. The playing wasn’t the only factor messing up their success rate. Coaching changes also can confuse a team. When they change a coach, the entire system of managing the team is changed. The team could be playing a strong defense, but the new coach could want them to be more of an offensive team. This could mess up the way the goalie is playing with the team, therefore throwing them off and not playing as well for a while.
The Devils have struggled as a team since Brodeur left as their goalie, but their current goalies are showing some promising improvements for the Devils’ future. Blackwood and Schneider seem to be rehabbing their playing skills for the next season. The fanbase is hopeful that they’ll be able to take the Devils back into a good playing system and have the skills to take them into the playoffs soon. Obviously, no Devils goalie can live up to Brodeur’s legacy, but if Blackwood and Schneider can get the Devils at least into the playoffs, the future of New Jersey Devils goaltending could be looking up.
