Who’s In New Jersey Devils Way To Make The Playoffs?

The New Jersey Devils sat back and watched a lot of teams in the Eastern Conference get better. However, did any of those teams actually surpass the Devils?

It should come as no surprise that the fight for the playoffs will be a hard one for most teams in the NHL this season. It seems like the last few drafts were chock full of star-quality talent, and that’s making the league very good and very young. That makes things interesting when making preseason predictions. That’s why it’s hard to tell whether the New Jersey Devils have a better or worst shot at making the postseason once again.

Many teams seemingly got better this offseason. Whether it was through free agency, the NHL Draft or some trades, the Eastern Conference is looking to close the gap with the West.

Meanwhile, the Devils will rely on their youth to get them by. So far, the most valuable addition to their team is Yegor Yakovlev, who’s a massive question mark. Besides that, this offseason has been about re-signing their restricted free agents and re-tooling their AHL squad.

Those were necessary tasks, but did they come at the expense of the NHL roster? Did Ray Shero do enough with the Devils to put another playoff squad on the ice?

Some Devils fans point out that having Travis Zajac, Marcus Johansson, Mirco Mueller and Kyle Palmieri fully healthy is like the best free agent signings. However, expecting a fully healthy squad all season is just asking for heartbreak.

So, who’s in the Devils way? Who could give the Devils fits while they try to make the playoffs?