The New Jersey Devils returned to action on Monday against the Avalanche and earned a huge 5-3 victory. However, in our series of grading every notably Devils player, we still have one more group to go. That is the second group of the much-maligned defensive and goaltending group.

Below are the grades for the second half of the Devils’ defenseman and goaltenders. We will be analyzing every Devils defenseman who has played at last five games and every goaltender who has played in at least one game so far this year.

Part I of the forwards grades can be seen here, Part II of the forwards can be seen here, and Part 1 of the defensemen and goaltender grade can be seen here.

Jonas Siegenthaler

Back in 2021-22, Jonas Siegenthaler appeared to be emerging as one of the elite defensive defenseman in the game. His defensive goals above replacement (GAR) and expected GAR (xGAR) figures ranked in the league’s 99th percentile. He was arguably the NHL’s top defensive defenseman.

After turning in another solid season in 2022-23, it has been utter disappointment for the now injured left-handed defenseman. Siegenthaler owns the lowest GAR rating (-6.3) on the Devils. Specifically, of 277 NHL defenseman with at least three games played this season, the -6.3 GAR figure ranks 273rd. For whatever reason, the 2023-24 season has been a disaster.

To make matters worst, Siegenthaler broke his foot back on January 6. Luckily, he has started to skate and appears to be nearing a return. Hopefully, when he does comes back, the 26-year-old is able to recapture his 2021-2023-self.

Grade: F

Kevin Bahl

It has been a very interesting season for the 23-year-old Kevin Bahl. He entered the season projected to serve as a bottom-pair defensive defenseman, but has been asked to play up the lineup due to the plethora of injuries. When you look at the result, they paint a confusing picture

Bahl owns a GAR rating of 2.3 which ranks third on the team. However, his xGAR (-4.3) ranks tied for dead last (24th) on the team. Basically, Bahl is expected to be getting much worse results than what is actually happening when he is on the ice. The big determining factor in the woeful xGAR figure is an expected offensive impacts that is not only the worst on the team but 275th of 277 defenseman with at least three games played this season.

At the end of the day, his more traditional possession metrics are subpar and the expected, more intricate analytics, back this up. However, given the Devils are shooting 11.26% when he is on the ice (second-highest of any player on the team with at least five games played) his actual performance may look a bit better than it actually is.

With that being said, it must be weighed that he is playing in a larger role out of necessity than he should be, and his overall defensive impacts are not horrible.

Grade: D-plus

Luke Hughes

It has been a pretty sensational rookie season for Luke Hughes. He leads Devils defenseman in points with 26 in 48 games and for the most part his offensive metrics, mostly on the power play, are off the charts. Not to mention, from a more traditional possession statistics outlook, Hughes has graded out well. His Corsi-for percentage (CF%) ranks fifth and his expected goals-for percentage ranks ninth.

It is still a work in progress defensively for Hughes, but that was to be expected. His defensive on-ice impacts rank in the 34th percentile. However, his xGAR defensive rating is actually positive, which is very encouraging. Regardless, he’s enduring a very strong rookie season.

Grade: B

Simon Nemec

Another Devils rookie defenseman who is excelling with the first chance he gets with the big club. Former second-overall pick, Simon Nemec, has been great since entering the lineup due to the high number of injuries. Through 27 games, he has 14 points.

Nemec’s on-ice even strength offensive impacts are off the charts. Of the 236 defenseman who have played in at least 13 games, Nemec has posted an even strength offensive GAR rating that ranks 15th. Not to mention, his more traditional possession number grade out as one of the better on the team, specifically sixth in xGF%. Another Devils rookie defenseman having a great rookie year.

Grade: B

Nico Daws

After having offseason surgery and rehabbing for most of the season, Nico Daws was called up to New Jersey after three strong appearances in Utica (AHL), with the Comets. Since his call-up, results have been pretty mixed, with struggles coming before the All-Star break.

After struggling immensely in 25 games as a 21-year-old, Daws has posted an .895 save percentage and -1.31 goals saved above expected (GSAx) this year. He did start off pretty strong, but over his last three games has posted save percentages of .880, .833, and .750. Like the other two goalies the Devils have played this season, Daws has struggled.

Grade: C-minus

Vitek Vanecek

Vitek Vanecek overall has struggled immensely this season after posting a career-year in 2022-23. Last season, Vanecek posted a save percentage of .911 and won over 30 games. His GSAx of 13.28 also indicated his stellar play was not just a result of a strong defensive group in front of him, albeit that certainly helped.

However, this year, Vanecek’s save percentage has regressed to a startling .888 and his quality start rate has dropped from 66.7% to only 40.1%. Not to mention, his GSAx is -11.83 which checks in 84th of 85 goalies in the league this season. What this figure tells you is that his traditional woeful save percentage number is not a direct result from bad defensive play as the GSAx metric attempts to isolate goaltender play from defensive play.

With that being said, Vanecek’s performance was very encouraging on Tuesday against the Avalanche. Further, he has posted a save percentage of .900 or higher in five of his last seven appearances.

Grade: F

All of the above statistics courtesy of Evolving Hockey and Natural Stat Trick.