Alexander Holtz (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images)
This past off-season, the New Jersey Devils decided to part ways with Alexander Holtz, the seventh overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.
There was a lot of criticism of his play, especially in the defensive zone. But when you look back on his time with the Devils, you can see that the timeline Holtz envisioned for himself and the team's timeline did not mesh as Craig Button, the former Director of Scouting and player personnel in Dallas and former Calgary Flames general manager told RG.
"I remember Bob Gainey making this comment many years ago when we were working in Dallas and we were talking about young players," Button said. "Sometimes, the player's timeline and the team's timeline don't intersect. And you have to recognize that. It's not that the New Jersey Devils don't like Alexander Holtz, but they may be looking at something right now that's different. Alex might not be ready to deliver what they're looking for, and that's where exchanges happen."
The Devils traded Alexander Holtz to the Vegas Golden Knights along with Akira Schmid on Day 2 of the 2024 NHL Draft for Paul Cotter and a third-round pick in 2025. The Devils had high hopes for Holtz, but things did not work out for him in New Jersey. But the Devils were asking him to be more of a defensive player than a goal scorer as he was projected to be.
"So Alexander was what I would call was a goal scorer if you're projecting him as a type of player. You're projecting him as an offensive goal scorer," Button said. "That's what you're projecting him as. A shooter getting into the right spots and a good release. And that's that's the type of player that that I saw Alexander as."
But that is not how the Devils utilized him. Devils President and General Manager Tom Fitzgerald wanted to see other areas of his game develop, mostly on the defensive side of the puck. And all players in the NHL go through this. A team wants them to develop other areas of their game instead of allowing them to focus on what they are good at.
"Now, there are parts of a game that have to be developed to be well rounded, to do different things in the game, and with players, and it's not a negative of a player that's been as prolific as Alex was coming up through the ranks, being drafted as high as he did," Button said. "I mean, he's a goal scorer and he wants to be allowed to be a goal scorer."
Thus, natural friction is created between the player and the team. Ultimately, the Devils decided that a trade was best, as it would be difficult for him to make the roster this season.
"And sometimes there's a natural friction between team, especially that age.
Players give me a chance just to let me be who I am," Button said. "Well, we need you to do this a little bit better. And you know now the team becomes a little bit I don't know if impatient is the right word, but oh, maybe, we need a different type of player in there, so you reach a point where you got to make a decision."
The Devils decided to move on from a highly drafted player and send him to a place where he could get an opportunity to play. The Vegas Golden Knights need offense, and Holtz can boost them. Plus, a change of scenery could give the player new life. As Button noted in the interview, this will continue throughout the league. It also gives a player a wake-up call and says maybe they are not as good as they think.
Alexander Holtz is not the only example. Countless players have found that a change of scenery works wonders for their game. Adam Larsson was getting traded from New Jersey to Edmonton. Then Nino Niederreiter left the New York Islanders to find his game with the Minnesota Wild before becoming a serviceable NHL player with the Carolina Hurricanes, Nashville Predators, and Winnipeg Jets.
Sometimes, teams must make the best decisions for the team and the player.
"So I don't think there's anything negative about Alex Holtz being traded. I don't think there's anything negative about the New Jersey Devils trying to try to get him to work in other areas of the game," Button said. "And you come to a realization that maybe change is best for everybody, and it happens lots. It happens lots over the course of time and will continue to happen."
Jim Biringer
