The lone member of the New Jersey Devils’ organization to find his name on today’s flooded waiver wire is defenseman Matt Tennyson.
Assuming Tennyson clears – most players slip through the cracks at this time of year – he is likely to be assigned to Binghamton, where he’d no doubt play a big role.
Tennyson being the lone Devils player on waivers is really interesting to me.
All training camp long John Hynes said the final two or three defense slots were up for grabs and he wanted someone to go out, play well, and earn a role. Tennyson did that. At least he appeared to.
Whether you’re looking at shot attempts, expected goals, or actual goals, the Devils were the much better team with Tennyson on the ice this preseason. The same can’t be said for any of his competitors, all of whom remain on the roster – at least for now.
I’m not saying I think Tennyson is a better option than those guys over the course of a season and/or long-term. What I am saying: it has to sting to be told numerous times there are jobs up for grabs, garner significantly better results than all others competing for the same role, and still come up with the short end of the stick.
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It sure seems like Ty Smith will be heading back to the WHL. With Tennsyon being the lone player on the Devils waived today, their options to cut down to 23 are as follows:
1) Sending Jesper Boqvist back to Sweden, which would be very unwarranted after the preseason he has had;
2) Swinging a trade, which isn't easy to do at this time of year without taking somebody back;
3) Assigning a roster lock like Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt or Mackenzie Blackwood to Binghamton while they figure things out.
I don’t *expect* any of those things to happen. Thus, Smith appears junior bound.
Many will say Smith doesn’t have much else to prove in the WHL after dominating over the last two years. There’s some truth to that – offensively.
Clearly, there is still room for improvement without the puck. His positioning needs to be a little better and, though not large in stature, he must be more dialled in and assertive around the net.
Damon Severson had some issues marking early in John Hynes’ tenure. Though the good still out-weighed the bad with Severson, he continued to pay the price until he showed real signs of improvement in that area of the game. I think that’s what the Devils want to see from Smith this year.
Yes, he’ll continue to put up a billion points in the WHL. That’s great. But Smith should be focused on better in-zone play and a more polished two-way game.
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Given the Devils’ want – need? – for another capable depth defender, there are some interesting names on waivers.
Perhaps the one that stands out the most in terms of name-brand recognition is Thomas Hickey. Unfortunately, he has three seasons remaining at $2.5 million per.
I know the Devils have a good chunk of money coming off the books soon, but they’ll also be adding a lot with extensions to (hopefully) Taylor Hall, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, and co. I’m just not sure they’ll want to make that kind of financial commitment for three years.
Christian Djoos is interesting if the Devils wanted to take a chance on a younger, more mobile defense-first defender.
One would hope they steer clear of Steven Santini, who has two years left at $1.41 million per, considering how poor his underlying metrics were during his tenure with the Devils.
I’ve learned never to say never but I wouldn’t expect any activity from the Devils tomorrow.
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