For the second time this season, the New Jersey Devils have lost a player with injury due to a Matt Rempe hit to the head. A month ago it was forward Nathan Bastian, but this time around it’s defenceman Jonas Siegenthaler. Siegenthaler had to be helped off the ice by team trainers after taking a “chicken wing” elbow to the head. The hit resulted in a four-game suspension for Rempe and now has Siegenthaler out indefinitely with a concussion. The Devils, who are already without Dougie Hamilton, will likely finish the season without their other top-pairing defenceman.
What this Means for the Devils
The Devils are no stranger to the injury bug this year. Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, Ondrej Palat, Tomas Nosek, and Hamilton all join Siegenthaler as Devils who have missed significant time with injury. Most of the injuries occurred around the same time in late fall and is one of the main reasons why the Devils season has gone into a tailspin. The team went into the year with Hamilton and Siegenthaler as their top pair but their injuries have forced younger players into the lineup.
What this Means for Siegenthaler
Siegenthaler has been no stranger to injuries, and this concussion is another unfortunate setback. If he’s out the rest of the season he’ll have only played in 49 games this year. He also missed 12 games back in 2021-22 and played in a total of 15 games in 2020-21. While the injury is unfortunate, it may be for the best to shut him down for the remainder of the year. Siegenthaler was having arguably his worst season as a Devil and hasn’t looked right since Hamilton went down. Hopefully, this concussion won’t have any long-term effects because he will still play a pivotal role on a young Devils blue line in 2024-25. Main Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY SportsMore must-reads: