5 New Jersey Devils Who May Not Be On Team Next Season
By Nick Villano
The New Jersey Devils are now officially in the offseason now that they lost their first-round series to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Looking at the roster, there are some players who will not be on the roster come opening night 2018.
It happens every single offseason. A team loses players that some people love, just because of logistics. The New Jersey has some hard decisions make once again this offseason.
Just think about how different the Devils look from last year to this year. Michael Cammalleri and Devante Smith-Pelley were bought out, Jacob Josefson and Yohann Auvitu were not re-signed and Jon Merrill was lost in the expansion draft.
This season will be more of the same, and now that the Devils have tasted postseason play even more changes could be on the horizon. General manager Ray Shero has some serious decisions to make in order to keep this train moving in the right direction.
Everyone says the Devils are going in the right direction, but the train can fall off the tracks with just a few bad decisions. The best example of that is the New York Islanders. Two seasons ago, John Tavares led them to a 100 point season, and ironically a loss in the second round to the Lightning. A few bad decisions later by GM Garth Snow, and they’re down to 80 points and Tavares is expected to leave.
In order for the Devils to avoid a similar fate with Taylor Hall, Shero has to hit on some of these moves. Also, he has to make sure the players he lets go will bring back equal value. Whether that player is replaced in free agency or in a trade, the Devils can’t afford to downgrade.
Also, not on this list is Drew Stafford, Jimmy Hayes and Michael Grabner. It’s almost certain none of them are going to be on the team next season. With that out of the way, let’s get started.