This year, Erik Haula really struggled in the regular season, regressing a lot from what we came to expect of him in his first two years in New Jersey. But in the playoffs, his game improved a good amount, showing us that he can once again be a productive middle six center.
Erik Haula just completed the second year of a 3 year deal with the New Jersey Devils with an average annual value of $3.15 million. It was his third full season with the team, after playing out the final year of his previous contract here as well, which was originally signed with Boston, where he made $2.375 million per year. He has made an impact on this team and has shone in certain areas, like defensive play from the forward position and his abilities in the faceoff circle. It was a contract that Tom Fitzgerald was good to give out at the time.
But of the three years with the team, this regular season was by far his worst, and he was nowhere near as competent as he was in previous seasons, and he did not live up to his AAV. It was not Ondrej Palat bad, but he was expected to be better than he was. He generated a measly 21 points in 69 regular season games, 20 points fewer than what he produced for the team two years ago. He was in the bottom half among forwards in Corsi, goals for, and expected goals for, which is all wildly different than in previous years, where he was somewhat of an analytical darling with fairly strong possession and xG numbers. In short, he did not provide the production that was expected of him, and what was needed from him.
In the playoff series, however, the Haula we saw was a different beast altogether. While lines were jostled around at times to try and generate anything against a stifling Carolina attack, Haula played most of the series on a line between Dawson Mercer and Jesper Bratt, and it turned out to be a beautiful spot for him. Yes, he only generated 1 assist and no goals at 5 on 5 in the series, so his good play did not translate to points, and that is a major problem in a 7-game series. But his underlying numbers show a much-improved player compared to what he showed over his 69 games played in the regular season. Just compare these 5 on 5 numbers, thanks to Natural Stat Trick:
Now, before saying anything about these numbers, it obviously needs to be noted that the regular season constitutes a significantly larger sample size. He played in 69 games during the regular season versus only 5 in the playoffs. 5 games is not a strong sample size, at all, and I tried to showcase that difference by adding time on ice to the chart. It is relevant. However, that being said, the playoffs are when it counts the most, and players are expected to step up and play their best hockey in games that mean more. And in this scenario, for Haula, he did exactly that. So, in my opinion, the boost in performance should be noted and praised, even with it being only 5 games.
And what a boost in performance it was. He went from someone who was mostly even in expected goals and underwater in possession, especially high danger possession, to a player who was utterly dominant in expected goals. Again, he only generated 1 assist himself, but the Devils were expected to score almost 2 goals to Carolina’s 1 when he was out there. For a series that was pretty well dominated by Carolina, that is a big-time number for Haula. The ice was clearly not tilted against NJ when he was out there on the ice.
Now, that boost in performance did come with a much higher offensive zone faceoff percentage, as well as having a consistent great linemate in Jesper Bratt. Those two variables cannot be discounted. Having almost 20% more offensive zone faceoffs in the playoffs allows for many more attempts on net, especially with good faceoff work to win possession right away. Then, having Bratt on the ice with him was important as well, as he was consistently a beast on the ice himself, and was clearly one of the best Devils of the year, if not the MVP. Having him out there to rely on on one side of the ice had to help Haula improve his game and play better.
Nonetheless, those two factors should not discount what Haula did himself. He went from someone who disappointed and underperformed in the regular season to a player who more than held his own against what turned out to be a better team in the playoffs in Carolina. He did not play to his standards in the regular season, but when the games became even more important, when playoff hockey came around, he stepped up his game. Sheldon Keefe put him in a strong position to succeed, and he came through with some quality hockey. Again, it would have really helped if he had generated more points, but the underlying numbers show that if he kept up that style of play for more games, the points would have come.
And now, with some good hockey from Haula over that playoff series, it gives us some hope that he can return to his more productive self next season. The Devils already have an albatross contract on the books in Palat’s $6 million per year, which runs through the 2026-27 season. They really could do without also having Haula’s $3.15 million contract be an albatross next year. That would be close to $10 million in dead money in the lineup. It is tough to win with that. But if he can be more productive again next season, like he was in the playoffs, that will be a huge boon to the middle 6.