3 glaring regrets for the New Jersey Devils after the first quarter of the season

2. Not bolstering the defense

The Devils have talent on the blue line, but they haven’t been able to put it together this season. A transitional period was expected following the departures of Ryan Graves and Damon Severson in the offseason, especially with rookie Luke Hughes beginning his first full NHL season and young Kevin Bahl taking on a bigger role this year. However, the defensive struggles are worse than anticipated. The Devils should regret not improving their defense in the offseason by adding a significant player to the blueline.

A major issue with the defense is that the players the team expected to get shutdown defense out of, Jonas Siegenthaler and John Marino, have not delivered in the way they did last season. Marino and Kevin Bahl aren't working out together. Then there’s Brendan Smith who looked far better filling in as a forward than he does as a defenseman. Luke Hughes has played well, but as a rookie, he needs a strong partner. Plus, the defense is now without Dougie Hamilton indefinitely as he recovers from surgery on his left pectoral muscle.

The Devils’ offseason acquisition of Colin Miller wasn’t a big splash, but he did add some depth. Due to Miller’s injury this fall, the Devils have largely had to rely on Brendan Smith to play a regular role this season despite the intention for him to be a seventh defenseman. With Hamilton on the shelf and Smith suspended for two games, prospect Simon Nemec recently got the call to make his NHL debut. Even with Smith available, Nemec should continue to draw into the lineup. It’s too much pressure to expect a rookie to completely turn things around, but Nemec was solid in his debut, and he brings something fresh to the lineup that can help turn the tides.

It was clear that the Devils couldn’t have afforded to keep both Severson and Graves, but should they have tried to keep Graves? His chemistry with Marino was electric, and Marino hasn’t quite been able to find a rhythm this year. Siegenthaler was very reliable in the past, and Marino was considered the steal of the 2022 offseason; in 2022-23, his brilliant defense made the Pittsburgh Penguins look foolish for giving him up. Far more responsibility has been placed on the two of them this season, and that's likely a big part of the problem. Marino has looked better recently, which is important because his regression has been troubling. The team might make a move between now and the trade deadline to add to their blueline, especially with Hamilton out long-term. The Devils are running out of time to clean up their defense.