Devils' Sheldon Keefe Provides Insight Into Scratching Depth Forward
For the first time in his New Jersey Devils tenure, 25-year-old Paul Cotter will be a healthy scratch.
Jan 6, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; New Jersey Devils center Paul Cotter (47) plays the puck behind the net during the third period against the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn ImagesWith the acquisitions of forward Daniel Sprong and Cody Glass, head coach Sheldon Keefe finds himself with an excess of players as the playoffs near.
That excess ignites internal competition and allows Keefe to hold certain players accountable if he feels their game is not at 100 percent.
The Michigan native leads the Devils with 205 hits and has matched his career-high of 13 goals in a single season. Still, there are parts of Cotter's game that New Jersey's coach wants to see improve.
"(Cotter) has the ability to be a finisher; if he gets one scoring chance, he can score for us," Keefe said to NJD.TV. "But there are lots of other areas of his game that are really lacking right now that are not allowing us to have sustained pressure and keep our game and keep going.
"We need better from him, and he is going to be an important guy down the stretch," Keefe continued. "A little bit of a reset for him. We met yesterday and made it clear what he needs to bring for us because he is an important guy, and we need to have him rolling. And the reality is each line that I have had him on here of late has gotten a little bit worse. So, it's been real hard to find a home for him. [...] He's the odd man out right now."
Cotter is not the first bottom-six forward to see himself out of the lineup. Over the first 65 games of the season, Keefe has scratched Nathan Bastian, Curtis Lazar, and Tomas Tatar at various points.
Puck drop between the Devils and Flyers will be at 1:00 p.m. Fans can watch on TNT, TRUTV, Max or listen on the Devils Hockey Network.
Make sure you bookmark THN's New Jersey Devils site for THN's latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.