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Devils bits: Standing up for Jack Hughes, trading for Domingue

Two New Jersey Devils items of note on this Friday:


  • Goaltending has been an issue for New Jersey lately, which isn’t too much of a shock considering the fact that they deployed a moderately intriguing but undeniable goalie in MacKenzie Blackwood, and dramatically fading would-be starter Cory Schneider.

With that in mind, the Devils sent a 2021 conditional seventh-round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning for depth goalie Louis Domingue. Here are those somewhat amusingly specific conditions:

1) Domingue plays in seven NHL regular-season games for the New Jersey Devils during the 2019-2020 NHL regular season; or

2) Domingue plays in one NHL playoff game for the New Jersey Devils during the 2020 NHL playoffs; or

3) Domingue is traded by the New Jersey Devils prior to the start of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.

The team noted that Domingue, 27, will report to New Jersey’s affiliate.

That makes sense as a start, but with how poorly things have been going in the Devils’ net, New Jersey should be open-minded to giving Domingue a shot. He fared reasonably well last season for Tampa Bay (21-5-0, albeit with an unspectacular .908 save percentage), and managed a downright solid .914 save percentage for the Lightning after being traded from the Arizona Coyotes in 2017-18.

Not mind-blowing, but considering Schneider’s .847 save percentage and Blackwood’s not-much-better .871 mark heading into Friday’s game against the Flyers, any improvement could be a pretty big deal for a Devils team that could sure use some optimism, what with Taylor Hall giving emo/screamo quotes recently.


  • While Kyle Palmieri probably lost the decision in what was admittedly not a spectacular fight, many gave him some kudos for sticking up for Jack Hughes during Friday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. The top overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft could spend his entire career undersized, but that might be especially true now, as he made that immediate jump to the big time. With that in mind, it’s helpful for Palmieri to show that he has Hughes’ back. Even when the hits aren’t necessarily dirty. I’m not sure if there was much/anything wrong with that hit by Matt Niskanen, but considering Hughes’ helmet flying off, I don’t think his Devils teammate was really making the mental calculations to decide that it was a textbook check.

That said, I won’t deny that, in most cases, Palmieri’s better off using his hands to score sweet goals than throw punches.

At the moment, it seems like Hughes and Palmieri shook off whatever they took from their exchanges with Niskanen, which makes for the best news of all for the Devils.

MORE:
Pro Hockey Talk’s Stanley Cup picks.
Your 2019-20 NHL on NBC TV schedule

James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.