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The New Jersey Devils had a very good February off and on the ice.
Off of it, interim GM Tom Fitzgerald made a handful of trades – including one where he essentially fetched a pair of 1st rounders for 1.25 seasons of Blake Coleman.
On it, the Devils played 14 games and picked up at least one point in 10 of them. They went 7-3-4 and matched the St. Louis Blues with a .643 points percentage.
Let’s take a look at those leading the charge in February’s edition of Three Stars of the Month.
3rd star - Tom Fitzgerald
I know I’m cheating a little bit on this one but let’s be real here. What Fitzgerald did in February is a lot more important than what any of the players did because, well, this season is toast. Fitzgerald’s moves will impact the team for a long time. And I think for the better.
You can argue he should have gotten slightly more for Wayne Simmonds or Sami Vatanen. I don’t really see it considering Simmonds is essentially a locker room guy who will bang in the occasional rebound, and Vatanen was damaged goods. He still hasn’t played a game for Carolina.
A 5th isn’t much less likely to hit than, say, a 3rd, and getting back Janne Kuokkanen – who has 46 points in 55 AHL games at 21 – for what could be 10-20 games of Vatanen is pretty nice.
A 2nd for Andy Greene is a really strong return any way you slice it, and the Blake Coleman trade has potential to be a homerun. Heck, maybe even a Grand Slam.
I love Blake Coleman and everything he stands for. He never takes a shift off and can contribute in every situation. All that said, the guy has 32 points in 61 games. He’s producing at a 40-point pace and this is his best season. I know he is also a fantastic defender but getting a power forward with 30-goal potential and another 1st round pick to add to the warchest is simply irrefusable.
Fitzgerald made a very strong case to stick around.
2nd star - Jesper Bratt
Every time I watch Bratt play I become more confused as to how he was made a healthy scratch, let alone on *this* team.
Whether or not the points are there on any given night, it’s a good bet the chances are. He’s taken a page out of Nikita Gusev’s playbook and is creating a ton for his teammates on a shift-to-shift basis. He’s threading the needle through very tight windows and, unlike Gusev, he has the speed and agility to change angles or blow past defenders and create lanes for himself.
Bratt finished tied for the team-lead with six goals and 10 points in February. He also scored some gorgeous shootout goals and posted strong on-ice numbers across the board.
Of the 15 Devils to play at least 100 minutes at 5v5, Bratt ranked 1st in Corsi For%, 3rd in Expected Goals For%, and no player on the roster was on for more goals for.
He was spectacular and early indications suggest that level of play will continue in March.
1st star - Mackenzie Blackwood
I really liked the Blackwood pick when it was made. I lived in Barrie, where he played junior, at the time and literally scouted him every weekend for years. I really believed he had starter potential. But his ceiling might even be higher than I anticipated.
A lot of goaltenders can steal a game once in a while. Blackwood is showing the ability to do it almost nightly. And, no, that’s not an exaggeration.
The guy started seven games in February. He went 6-0-1 despite facing an average of 39 shots a night.
Blackwood stopped 265 of 274, posting an absurd .967 save percentage in the process. He conceded just nine goals while being expected to allow 22.15. That’s 13.15 goals saved above expectation, good for an average of 1.875 per game. Per game! The guy should have allowed ~two more goals per start.
Allow me to put into perspective how ridiculous Blackwood was in February. He posted a .940 save percentage vs high-danger (Grade A) shots.
Of the 31 goaltenders to play at least 400 minutes in February, Antti Raanta ranked 2nd in *total* save percentage at .943.
So, essentially, Blackwood vs the toughest shots imaginable fared nearly as well as the 2nd best goaltender of the month against all shots – you know, including the low-danger ones from the point that go in ~2% of the time.
Updated standings
Points (appearances)
3 for 1st, 2 for 2nd, 1 for 3rd
Mackenzie Blackwood -- 6 (2)
Blake Coleman -- 5 (2)
Nico Hischier -- 3 (1)
Nikita Gusev -- 3 (3)
Jesper Bratt -- 2 (1)
Taylor Hall -- 2 (1)
Damon Severson -- 2 (1)
Tom Fitzgerald -- 1 (1)
Numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com
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