New Jersey Devils: Does Reid Boucher Have A Shot At Making The Team?
By Nick Villano
@nick_villano
Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
Reid Boucher has been the sharpshooting prospect that New Jersey Devils fans have been salivating for since he broke the Sarnia Sting record for goals back in March of 2013. He finally got a chance to play in the NHL last year with mixed reviews.
Boucher was brought up to score goals, but he was could only light the lamp twice in 23 games. He is looking to prove he can be a bigger contributor than that this preseason. He scored in the team’s first game against the New York Rangers. He hasn’t registered a point since, but to be fair he hasn’t played in every game.
Boucher may very well deserve a spot on an NHL roster, but the problem is the number of forwards on the Devils. They have 14 forwards on one-way contracts. They also have Scott Gomez and Jordin Tootoo on in-camp tryouts. The team also has Stefan Matteau, who would also like to make it to the major club.
The Devils may be forced to make a move. They have too many players on the roster who will hold them back offensively. Boucher is not one of those players. Devils GM Lou Lamoriello may go on the notion that he wants depth in case injuries happen (which they did often last year). It is better to keep a player like Dainius Zubrus or Damien Brunner in the lineup than trade them because when Ryane Clowe eventually gets injured again, the drop-off isn’t as steep.
Is that a good reason to keep someone off the roster? Probably not, but that hasn’t stopped a team before. The problem is Boucher has a skill that no other Devil has: shootout prowess. For a good part of the season, Boucher was the only player on the team to have a shootout goal. When the Devils went to a shootout this preseason, he once again scored. The Devils were absolutely haunted by the shootout last season. Can they afford to keep a player who is so good at it off the team?
I think Boucher will end up being the first injury replacement for the Devils. There are a lot of old pieces up front, and that means their bodies could break down. Peter DeBoer and Lamoriello will need some young legs to call upon when these injuries happen. For that reason, Boucher will start this season in the AHL
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