Introduction
If you have not already, make sure to check out part one of this series here. The below are the remaining five New Jersey Devils defensemen that ended the season with the team. Each defenseman’s ratings are based off their individual performances.
We also hope to release our individual forward grades, so keep an eye out in the coming weeks.
Damon Severson
I am sure, for whatever reason, several Devils fans are not going to agree with this one, but people need to accept it. Damon Severson is this team’s best defenseman. He even started the season so hot, his numbers replicated one of the league’s best. Of course, he did slow some – but still turned in a very solid season. Below are the rankings among Devils defensemen in several different important season categories:
| Categories: | Rank: |
| Expected Goals Above Average (xGAR) | 1st |
| Corsi-for % (CF%) | 2nd |
| Expected Goals for % (xGF%) | 2nd |
The chart below also further indicates how impactful Severson was. The most impressive part of all this? Severson played almost 200 minutes of even-strength hockey, more than any other Devils defenseman.
Severson’s impact also goes far above his individual counting metrics. The number one aspect that caught my eye this season was his impact on rookie defenseman Ty Smith. The youngster was struggling mightily early on–especially in his own end. But Head Coach Lindy Ruff paired him with Severson, which revitalized Smith’s season.
Overall, it was a pretty good season for the Devil’s longest-tenured player. His metrics not so long ago were on par with the likes of Jared Spurgeon and Roman Josi. Pretty remarkable, right?
Grade: A
P.K. Subban
It is always a roller coaster when it comes to fan perception of P.K. Subban. At the beginning of the season, it seemed he was Devils fan’s public enemy number one. By season’s end, it seemed everyone loved him. Well, it should be somewhere in between.
After a horrific first season in the red and black, Subban bounced back in 2021, before COVID ended his season. He ranked 3rd among Devils defensemen in CF% and 4th in xGF%. So, in terms of Devils defensemen, he graded well.
His point production also saw an increase this year. In 68 games last season, he tallied 18 points. In 2021, he racked up 19 in 24 fewer games. Over an 82-game season, he was on pace for 35 total. This is nowhere near vintage-Subban but a respectable figure. Another area where he excelled was the power play. This is confirmed by the below chart, specifically the one on the right side.
Overall, a solid bounce-back year for Subban. Though, not improving on the dreadful season he had last year would have been difficult. Nonetheless, with one year left on his monster contract, expect him to once again serve as a serviceable top-four presence next season.
Grade: B
Jonas Siegnethaler
Let’s preface this by saying it was difficult to fully grade Jonas Siegenthaler in the smaller sample size, but he did do well in the game he played.
Siegenthaler came over thanks to a trade deadline deal with the Washington Capitals and played fine. Surprisingly, his underlying metrics grade out as one of the best among Devils defensemen. This is demonstrated in the chart below.
| Categories: | Rank: |
| Expected Goals Above Replacement (xGAR) | 2nd |
| Corsi-for % (CF%) | 4th |
| Expected Goals For % (xGF%) | 1st |
By no means do I see a top-four defenseman in Siegenthaler’s future. However, I do strongly believe there is a defensively-sound, penalty-killing, bottom-pairing type of guy. His numbers in a short time with New Jersey, illustrate that. Even more impressive, was some of these numbers were put up after he had a bout with COVID-19.
Nonetheless, I was pleasantly surprised with Siegenthaler limited sample we saw.
Grade: B
Ty Smith
The Devils let the team’s top defensive prospect develop in the WHL for a while and it paid off. In 48 games, the rookie tallied 23 points. He only had two goals on 2.9% shooting which is abnormally low. So, I would expect the goal scoring to pick up just a bit in the coming years.
Analytically, Smith was okay, for the most part. His CF% ranked first among Devils defensemen at 54.16, and his xGF% ranked third. The concern, which was warranted, was his play in his own end. This concern proved to be a realistic one, as he definitely needs to continue improving in this area. This is evident by the chart above, which shows his individual even strength defensive metrics were well below league average. So below average they ranked in the league’s 10th percentile. His defensive GAR rating was -1.2, which is not a good figure. However, this part of his game will come along with age.
Smith played in all situations and was second among Devil’s defensemen in even-strength ice-time, which may explain some of the struggles. Everyone has to keep in mind it was his first NHL season. Overall, Smith will be sure to improve and grow moving forward.
Grade: B–
Ryan Murray
Ryan Murray had a brutal start to the season. However, after sticking with the Devils post-deadline, he had himself a solid end to the year. This is pretty remarkable, given he was a healthy scratch at times.
Murray ended the season with GAR that surprisingly led Devils defensemen. It is worth noting, however his xGAR was -2.9, which means his actual on-ice results were a lot better than they should have been. Unlike several Devils this year, Murray was a large beneficiary of “luck.”
Given Murray started to creep back to his old self is a good sign, and one that is enough for me to want the Devils to re-up the unrestricted-free agent this offseason. Not only would this bring back a serviceable, defensive-first defenseman, it would also be one less hole the Devils would have to address in the offseason.
Nonetheless, when looking at his season as a whole, it was a bit underwhelming. This can be further demonstrated by the chart above.
Grade: C-plus
Conclusion
The New Jersey Devils defensive core did end up being underwhelming. However, they do have pieces for the future, several of which should regress to the better come next season.
Later in the week, be on the look out for rankings of Devils’ rookies and younger players from this past year. As well as episode 49 of Devils Army Cast.