A statistic for every New Jersey Devils defenseman to prove their success this season

28 games into the season, the Devils currently have the most points of any team in the Eastern Conference outside of the Washington Capitals (who are tied with 36). This is a bit of a mirage since they have played more games than any other team and their point percentage is truly the fourth best in the conference. This statistic is ultimately the most important because it will determine whether they play for the Stanley Cup or play golf in mid-April.

But now that we’re more than a quarter of the way through the season, let’s take a look at a statistic in which every Devils player stands out compared to the rest of the NHL. This time we take a look at the Devils defenders. All stats referenced come courtesy of Natural Stat Trick or Hockey Reference’s rankings. For this article we base this article on 10 games played this season and apologize to Simon Nemec and Seamus Casey.

Dougie Hamilton – Takeaways/60 – (1.35)

Mention just about any offensive statistic and Dougie Hamilton will likely be in the top five this season. He leads all defensemen in shots on goal (90), on-ice expected goals for/60 (5.35) and is third in rebounds produced (behind Rasmus Dahlin and Cale Makar). But the question with Dougie has always been: Can he generate more on offense than he gives off on defense? Now no one will accuse Hamilton of being a strong defensive player (his xGA/60 of 2.86 is 37th worst among defensemen), but there are signs that he has become more committed to two-way play under Keefe . His 4.87 blocked shots/60 would be by far the highest of his career, and he is also currently averaging the highest takeaway rate of his career.