On Jun. 29, 2024, the New Jersey Devils acquired Paul Cotter from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Akira Schmid and Alexander Holtz. While the move initially saw some mixed opinions on social media, Cotter had a pretty successful first season with the Devils. He scored a career-high 16 goals – most of them pretty flashy – and broke the franchise’s single season hits record with 245.

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Furthermore, his top skating speed of 23.44 miles per hour (MPH) made him the second fastest on the team, trailing only Luke Hughes (23.58 MPH – via NHL EDGE). While he mostly played in a bottom-six role, he was still immensely valuable, but never more valuable than when the shootout rolled around.

Cotter’s Shootout Success

Cotter shot an impressive 75% in the shootout this season (3/4), giving him the third-highest conversion rate among 80 players with 3+ attempts. It wasn’t a fluke either, as all season, he showcased some of the best hands in the league to go along with his elite speed. From the very beginning of preseason, it seemed that he scored on practice breakaways at a much higher rate than anyone else. That translated to both games and the shootout.

Paul Cotter's actually so filthy in the shootout