Slovakian defender Šimon Nemec was out of the team’s main lineup at New Jersey’s Friday practice.
He completed the exercises only in the role of the seventh defender. That means in the Devils’ game against Carolina on Sunday (1:00 a.m. CET) will not present itself in the case of an ideal scenario.
Overseas journalist Amanda Steinová reported about it on the X social network.
The German returned last week after a serious injury that he suffered in mid-December and which caused him to miss 12 NHL games.
After his return, he played only two duels, on Tuesday against Minnesota (5:2) he was only a healthy substitute.
New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe justified his omission from the lineup by returning from injury. They want to give him time to return to full match workload.
The main reason, however, is the fact that New Jersey has an overabundance of right-handed defensemen. Three can fit into the lineup, they have four players at the NHL level.
Keefe promised that the German would play after his absence, and he kept his word. He started in a 3-2 overtime win over Seattle on Thursday. He did not score, played 19:33 minutes, recorded three shots and blocked one shot.
In the past matches, the defenders on the right side changed regularly, always one of them was not on the match list.
This time, the German heard the unpleasant news.
“With seven full-fledged backs at the NHL level… these are not easy conversations. Nemo (Šimon Nemec, editor’s note) wants to play, but I have to make a decision and that will be the case tomorrow. And then I have to make a decision when we go on the ice.” stated on Friday Keefe.
The German’s competitors in defense are Dougie Hamilton, whose name is mentioned with a possible exchange, Jonathan Kovacevic and Brett Pesce. All three were on the practice roster among the top six.
“It’s not an easy decision, especially when it’s a priority for us to get the German back up to speed. But there’s a big game coming up and Dougie (Hamilton) is playing very well when he comes back. We want to see what Kovacevic can bring to us in a game like this,” added Keefe.
The German played 34 games in the current NHL season with 18 points (7+11). He is the second most productive and, with an average time on ice of 19 minutes and 57 seconds, the fourth most used defenseman in New Jersey.
