Analytics Say Sami Vatanen is Likely Not The Devils Best Defenceman (ft. Interview with EvolvingWild)

Here’s the narrative that most people would likely tout. The Devils were a team in 2017 that wasn’t supposed to do anything due to a depressingly barren roster — particularly at defense. They overperformed due to an MVP season from Taylor Hall, surprising seasons from first-year players Hischier, Bratt, Coleman, and Gibbons, and a trade by Shero that landed us the #1 defender we needed to shore up the blue line. Is that what happened?

The most I could possibly see someone saying about the team is that we clearly improved in overall shot ratio — which is good!