The New Jersey Devils' 2014-15 Holiday Wish List

The holiday season is upon us, and the New Jersey Devils and their fans certainly have a ton to wish for. 

The Devils have scored the fifth-fewest goals in the NHL, while they have given up the fifth-most goals as well. With such poor numbers, the team ought to be thankful to be only five points out of a playoff spot. 

This holiday wish list looks at what Devils players, management and the team overall will hope to find under the proverbial Christmas tree in the coming weeks.

If the Devils do not get most of these things for the holidays, it may take a Christmas miracle to get the team back on track.

Defensive Prowess for Eric Gelinas

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Eric Gelinas joins a goal celebration with Jacob Josefson and Tuomo Ruutu.

No one doubts the offensive ability of Eric Gelinas. He has four goals and six assists through 24 games this season—after getting seven goals and 22 assists in 60 games last season.

Of course, he could have even more points this season if he had played more than 24 of the team's first 31 games. But Gelinas has been a healthy scratch seven times, and sat out long periods of games he started, because he has not earned the trust of coach Peter DeBoer with his defensive play.

Though watching Gelinas makes the viewer feel as though DeBoer is right in being reluctant to trust him, his numbers are initially comforting. Gelinas has a plus-four rating so far this season, which is tied for highest on the team. His Corsi numbers (which measure the number of shots a team takes and faces when a player is on the ice) are middle of the pack on the Devils, according to Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com.

But a look at where most of Gelinas' shifts start on the ice explains how his numbers became so inflated. The offensive zone has been the location for 43.4 percent of the faceoffs where Gelinas has been on the ice, which is the highest rate on the Devils. His defensive-zone faceoff rate is only 21.7 percent, which is the lowest on the team by 3.4 percent. 

In short, DeBoer has been shielding Gelinas from situations in which he has to play much defense, yet his Corsi is still only average. 

If Gelinas wants to play regularly, and get decent playing time when in the lineup, his decision-making, passing and understanding of the game all have to improve drastically.

Health and Continued Momentum for Adam Larsson

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Adam Larsson celebrates a goal with Travis Zajac and Michael Cammalleri.

When Adam Larsson was drafted fourth overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, the Devils thought they were getting an incredibly promising offensive defenseman. 

Larsson picked up 17 points in 49 games in the Swedish Elite League in 2009-10 and 18 points in 65 games during his first season with New Jersey in 2011-12. 

But since the rookie season in which he played 65 games, Larsson had struggled to find consistency. He split time between AHL affiliate Albany Devils and New Jersey, never fully earning DeBoer's trust. This season, he started as the team's seventh defenseman and played his first game on October 21.

Since entering the lineup this season, though, Larsson has been a completely different player.

He has turned into a shutdown defenseman.

How good has Larsson been? Defensively, he's been the complete opposite of Gelinas. Larsson has a slightly better Corsi than Gelinas, but his defensive-zone faceoff rate is 43.6 percent, which is 5.7 percent higher than the next closest Devil.

While in the lineup, DeBoer has asked Larsson to play in the toughest situations, and he has risen to that challenge exceptionally well.

Of course Larsson has not played in two weeks since being diagnosed with the mumps. Tom Gulitti at the Bergen Record reported that Larsson was cleared to resume skating on Friday, so he will hopefully be able to return to the lineup before Christmas.

The Devils desperately need his return, and they need him to be the same player he was before falling ill. 

Goals for Michael Ryder

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Michael Ryder takes a shot on New York Islanders goalie Chad Johnson.

When Michael Ryder rang yet another scoring chance off the post in the first period against Dallas on Thursday, it was another frustration added onto what has already been a disheartening season for the winger from Newfoundland. 

Jason Spezza struck for the Stars moments later. A game that Ryder could have tied at 1-1 now saw the Devils down 2-0. 

Ryder had five shots on goal against Dallas, not counting the one that rang off the pipe. The chances have been there for the 34-year-old over the last few weeks, but he just has not been able to convert. 

With Michael Cammalleri leaving the game on Thursday with an injury, the Devils may need Ryder's goals more than ever in the coming weeks. 

Ryder, who has always been a streaky scorer, may just need to get one or two to get himself going again. Often, it is the ugly goals that can break a dry spell like his, but even those chances have not worked out for Ryder of late.

There is little more that can be said about Ryder. If the Devils want to stay competitive, they need him scoring goals.

Discipline for the Whole Team

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A holding call is made against the Devils, who have spent far too much time in the penalty box this season.

New Jersey has been shorthanded 115 times this season, which is second-most in the NHL. 

While the team's penalty kill has vastly improved from its putrid form at the start of the season, being down a man so frequently is hurting the team.

Some of the common offenders are unsurprising, and perhaps unavoidable, while others simply need to be more careful. 

Marek Zidlicky leads the team with 11 minor penalties. Zidlicky is slow, not a particularly good defensive defenseman and prone to turnovers, so his presence atop the list comes as no surprise. If he is smarter with the puck, perhaps he can cut down on a few trips to the box. In general though, little is likely to change there.

Jordin Tootoo has eight minor penalties, but he will likely be coming out of the lineup when one of Travis Zajac, Dainius Zubrus or Patrik Elias returns from injury.

Jaromir Jagr and Cammalleri have 10 and nine minor penalties, respectively. These two have arguably been the Devils' two best forwards this season, but they both have to do a better job of staying disciplined.

Both have made a pesky habit of taking unnecessary offensive zone and neutral zone penalties in attempts to win back pucks to create chances. They, along with Tuomo Ruutu and Ryder (nine and seven minor penalties, respectively), need to cut these needless penalties out of their games.

Another Scoring Czech Forward for Peter DeBoer

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Martin Havlat and Patrik Elias fight for the puck along the boards.

Devils head coach Peter DeBoer has come under frequent scrutiny from fans this season. Occasionally it has been warranted, but by and large he has been crippled by injuries and underwhelming individual performances. 

In no place have these two issues been more clear than with New Jersey's Czech forwards not named Jagr—Martin Havlat and Patrik Elias.

Havlat has only played in 18 of the team's 31 games, missing out with multiple injuries. When he has played, he has been off and on at best. 

His Corsi is second-worst on the team, he has a minus-nine rating and he has only seven points. 

The injuries were to be expected with Havlat, who has not played more than 48 games in a season since 2010-11. But the lack of production from a player who picked up 67 points in 127 games with the Sharks over the last three seasons has been disappointing for DeBoer and the Devils.

Elias has missed the Devils' last four games due to injury and struggled at times when he was healthy. He has nine assists, which is fifth on the team in that category, but only three goals. He has a team-worst minus-12 rating. 

DeBoer will be hoping that the holiday season brings goals from several different players, but Havlat and Elias likely sit at the top of that list.

A Defense-for-Forward Trade for Lou Lamoriello

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Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

Lou Lamoriello has probably been searching for a way to turn the team's depth at defense into a scoring forward for two seasons, and the appeal of such a move still has not changed. 

The Devils have had nine defensemen play this season, all of whom have significant NHL experience or tremendous potential to be NHL defensemen for years to come.

Captain Bryce Salvador probably has no trade value anymore, but the other eight could legitimately be pieces that fit into another team's puzzle. New Jersey has significantly less depth and value at forward, so at first glance, a trade of a defender for a forward makes sense.

To pull such a move though, Lamoriello would have to weigh a number of questions.

How willing is he to deal a young defender for an older forward? How does he balance offensive defensemen and stay-at-home defensemen? Is this a team that can seriously hope to win now with the right trade or two? Are there any forwards available in the trade market worth having?

The answers to these questions have made it such that Lamoriello has not made a move in the past. 

Lamoriello, and the rest of the Devils organization, certainly hope that this changes this holiday season.