New Jersey Devils Daily: Opening Night Defensemen, Flyers Rivalry, More

On today’s New Jersey Devils Daily, who will be on the team’s blueline opening night, the anticipation for a new Devils-Flyers rivalry and what the fourth line could look like with some new additions.

The New Jersey Devils have an interesting situation when it comes to the defense. There are many options to fill spots, but not a ton of them are ideal. The signing of Will Butcher adds a young player who has potential to be a top-line player one day. John Fischer with All About the Jersey predicts what the team’s defense will look like opening night. He believes Butcher and Mirco Mueller have the edge to start the season over the likes of Steve Santini and Dalton Prout. Obviously, the team has used up to ten defensemen every year, so opening night blueline will not be the all season blueline.

Which Defensemen Are On the New Jersey Devils on Opening Night?

Mike O’Sullivan with ABC7 previews the Devils attempt of a bounce-back season. He says the team has big upside with so many young players, but it’s hard to imagine all will work out at the same time this season. He also makes the interesting observation, saying Nico Hischier will likely play with Marcus Johansson and Adam Henrique. That’s a high-powered second line if I’ve ever seen one. It could be difficult to make that happen, as all three of those players could be used to replace Travis Zajac in between Taylor Hall and Kyle Palmieri. However, it still could happen and would give the Devils an amazing top six.

Devils looking for a bounce back season with a first round draft pick as their centerpiece

Tyler Kelley with Pucks and Pitchforks takes a look at the Devils fourth line, predicting what kind of production we can expect. The fourth line was terrible last season, but multiple additions to the roster will help bolster all lines on the front end. Kelley thinks Miles Wood, Brian Boyle and Stefan Noesen will fill the bottom line opening night. He predicts the three players will combine for 32 goals. That would be a great upgrade.

New Jersey Devils 4th Line Player and Point Projections

It’s always good to try and see the team out of your rivals eyes. Jeff Quake with Sports Talk Philly takes a look at the new age of the Devils-Flyers rivalry. Nico Hischier and Nolan Patrick will always be tied. For one, they are the top two picks that were debated about for months. Also, the two went to rival teams. The two players have said nothing but nice things about the other. That will likely change once hockey begins.

Anticipation Surrounding Flyers-Devils Meeting with Potential Nolan-Nico Matchup

Chris Ryan with NJ.com goes through his mailbag (it was mostly Twitter comments). There were some interesting points made from the myriad of questions. He thinks Damon Severson will likely get signed within the next two weeks. Nico Hischier will score 35-40 points in his first season according to Ryan’s prediction. Extremely interesting is he believes John Quenneville will make the opening roster. With Drew Stafford and Jimmy Hayes joining the team, it’s hard to imagine Quenneville cracking the roster out the gate.

Devils mailbag: Damon Severson’s status, rookie expectations entering training camp