{"id":458129,"date":"2024-12-09T16:33:07","date_gmt":"2024-12-09T21:33:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=458129"},"modified":"2024-12-09T16:33:07","modified_gmt":"2024-12-09T21:33:07","slug":"nhl-rumours-new-jersey-devils-search-for-forward-depth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/12\/09\/nhl-rumours-new-jersey-devils-search-for-forward-depth\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Rumours: New Jersey Devils Search for Forward Depth"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s time for another round of NHL rumours. We’re nearing Christmastime, but some general managers are already thinking about their trade deadline wish lists. There have already been a number of trades made in the early portion of the season. However, some more may be coming in the next couple of moths. Teams are doing all they can to plug holes and make a push for the Stanley Cup. One teams that’s got designs on a title is the New Jersey Devils.<\/a> This edition of NHL rumours deals with one area they want to bolster.<\/p>\n

All NHL rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.<\/p>\n

NHL Rumours<\/h2>\n

New Jersey Devils Look to Add Forward Depth<\/h3>\n

Rumour: The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun said the Devils could be looking to add to their forward ranks<\/a>. LeBrun talked to Devils General Manager Tom Fitzgerald<\/a> about how the season has progressed so far.<\/em><\/p>\n

Analysis:<\/em> The Devils have managed to turn things around from a disappointing 2023-24 campaign<\/a>. Fitzgerald made a number of moves in the off-season to cure what ailed New Jersey. The Devils finally added a big-time goalie in Jacob Markstrom<\/a> and hired Sheldon Keefe<\/a> as head coach.<\/p>\n

New Jersey also remade its defence<\/a> by adding Brett Pesce<\/a>, Brenden Dillon<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Johnathan Kovacevic<\/a>. It also helps that Luke Hughes<\/a> and Dougie Hamilton<\/a> are both healthy. It also helps that the younger players<\/a> have stepped up and matured. They’ve played a role in helping the Devils are second in the division behind the Washington Capitals.<\/a><\/p>\n

Fitzgerald’s fixes have translated to the Devils being near the top of Metropolitan Division for most of the season. New Jersey looks well-positioned to return to the post-season and play meaningful hockey late in the spring.<\/p>\n

The Devils have made progress, but they are looking for more this season. New Jersey has a solid lineup, but there’s always room for improvement.<\/p>\n

A Work in Progress<\/h4>\n

However, Fitzgerald isn’t done putting his fingerprints on the roster. New Jersey is getting great seasons from Nico Hischier<\/a> and Jesper Bratt<\/a>. However, Fitzgerald said that he’s not yet done helping to improve the forward group.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald said that he’d love to add a fourth-line centre or a top-nine forward to the group. He specifically stated that he’s looking for someone that can “win defensive-zone and penalty-kill faceoffs.”<\/p>\n

New Jersey’s GM said that’s been in touch with other clubs about procuring a forward that fits the bill. Fitzgerald made it a point that he’s looking for utility players. These are players that can fill multiple roles and have a wide array of skill sets.<\/p>\n

The Devils general manager is looking for size, but isn’t picky on what forward spot they would be happy with. Fitzgerald said that he’s looking for players that can either play on the wing or down the middle.<\/p>\n

There’s no doubt that the Devils are going to likely be a buyer at the trade deadline or beforehand. It could be a late Christmas present for fans at The Rock this season.<\/p>\n

Main photo by: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s time for another round of NHL rumours. We’re nearing Christmastime, but some general managers are already thinking about their trade deadline wish lists. There have already been a number of trades made in the early portion of the season. However, some more may be coming in the next couple of moths. Teams are doing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2352,"featured_media":452651,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4547,13,4548,4321],"tags":[6094,457,4332],"class_list":["post-458129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hockey","category-devils","category-nhl","category-rumours","tag-new-jersey-devils-rumours","tag-sheldon-keefe","tag-tom-fitzgerald"],"modified_by":"Dan Mount, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2352"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=458129"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458129\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":458140,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458129\/revisions\/458140"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/452651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=458129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=458129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=458129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}