Caught up in all of the top rookies of this year's crop was the stellar play of goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood.
While the Devils were one of the biggest disappointments this season, one of their few bright spots was the 23-year-old, who emerged as the team's No. 1 netminder despite the team undergoing a vast number of changes, both on the ice and in the front office.
The Devils fired GM Ray Shero, who brought in Taylor Hall, P.K. Subban, Nikita Gusev and drafted Jack Hughes, back in January after five years on the job and named former NHLer Tom Fitzgerald as GM, while legendary goaltender Martin Brodeur was promoted to executive vice-president of hockey operations and senior advisor.
The Hockey News' Matt Larkin recently caught up with Brodeur to dive into several topics, including the stellar play of Blackwood, who led the rookie class in wins (22) and finished with a 22-14-8 record with a 2.77 goals against average and .916 save percentage despite being on the sixth-worst team in the NHL.
“The future is bright for him,” Brodeur explained.
“He’s a big body. He plays really well. If there’s one thing he’s gonna need to learn, it’s to play the puck a little bit better, just be a little more assertive with it.
"He’s got the skills to do it. It was just never his game, really. And at the NHL-level, you need to be able to at least help your players and not be a problem back there as far as having the puck and controlling your rebounds and all that. But we’ve learned a lot about him, what type of player he is, what type of person he is. The players love to play for him, so that’s a good sign. He works really hard, and that, for a goalie, is a good thing.”
Blackwood, like many goalies now, stands tall at 6-foot-4 and uses his frame to his advantage. Although the Devils were out of the playoff race, he was one of the best goaltenders down the stretch, especially considering that the Devils were outshot more often than not.
For now, Blackwood is just chillin' on a boat, as the Devils could be off the ice for upwards of 10 months, once the NHL decides when the 2020-21 regular seasons starts.
