New Jersey Devils: 5 Reasons To Be Optimistic This Season
The New Jersey Devils had a lot go right last season in order to make a return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. There are opportunities this season to do the same thing.
The season is one month away, and this is the best time of the year for every fanbase. Right now, everyone technically has a chance to win Lord Stanley’s Cup. Nobody thought that the Vegas Golden Knights had a chance to make the playoffs, let along the Finals. Most people didn’t give Washington Capitals a chance after making some offseason cuts, but they won it all.
The New Jersey Devils don’t have a ton of optimism going into this season. There is more than there was the last three years, but not as much as there should be coming off a wonderful season. Taylor Hall won the league MVP for the first time in franchise history. Nico Hischier was everything you wanted him to be and more. The young players really stepped up, and the goaltending situation was a work in progress.
However, with the Devils lack of moves and the moves of the teams surrounding them, some fans and analysts are worried for what this season may hold for Jersey’s Team. It may be a legitimate concern, but there’s a lot happening that should make fans optimistic for the upcoming season. Here are five main reasons why.
5. Marcus Johansson Is Finally Healthy
The Devils made a splash last offseason when on the second day of free agency, they actually hit the trade market. Ray Shero called the Washington Capitals, and took one of their good, young players in Marcus Johansson. It was a masterful trade that should have really helped the team win.
Unfortunately, Johansson dealt with injuries all season long, including a bad concussion from a purposeful elbow at the hands of Brad Marchand. It took him until the playoffs to return, and it was obvious he needed time to get his legs.
Well, he’s had all offseason to get his legs. It’s likely that he will be back to his 20 goals, 50 points we expected from him last season. Putting that kind of production on the second line will really help. More importantly, adding some extra production to the Devils second power play will really help. That unit was a real weakness for the Devils last season.
We should be really excited to have a fully healthy Johansson this season. He will take a big load off the shoulders of Taylor Hall.
4. Deep Offensive Talent
Devils fans are not used to relying on our offense to win games, but that’s exactly what happened last season. While the top line is head and shoulders above the rest, there is talent on every single line. Miles Wood was a fourth-line player, and ended the season with 19 goals. The third line with Blake Coleman and Stefan Noesen became extremely clutch by the end of the season.
Add in some young players like Michael McLeod, Nick Lappin or John Quenneville, and the Devils are close to having an offensive force at every position.
I mean, even Brian Boyle was scoring at will when he was feeling it. Every single forward on this team has the ability to score 15 goals next season. Sure, it likely won’t work out that way, but to know that all four lines can score when you need them to gives the Devils a huge advantage.
3. Cory Scheider Finally Fixed His Injury
This offseason, Cory Schneider had major surgery done on his hip. After dealing with injury after injury to his hip and groin the last two seasons, he finally got this procedure done.
We can see why he waited so long. The rehab to the injury is going to cause him to miss the start of the season.
It will all be worth it if we can get the old Schneider back. The Devils don’t even need the Schneider that used to post regular .925 save percentages, although it would be nice. This team would be happy is Schneider could put up a .915 save percentage after his last two seasons.
Cory was bad for two seasons in a row, but at least last season he showed signs of greatness. The first three months of the year, he helped carry the Devils to one of the top records in the Metropolitan Division. In the playoffs, he was the best goalie on the ice, and he was playing Andrei Vasilevskiy.
If this surgery helps make Schneider right, then the sky is the limit this season.
2. Nico Hischier’s Jump In Year Two
Nico HIschier was better than we could have hoped in his first year in the league. This was the number one overall pick in an “off” year. He wasn’t Auston Matthews or Connor McDavid, but he was sure fun to watch. He scored 20 goals, and recorded 32 assists while playing on the first line.
We’ve seen in the past these 18-year-old rookies making a major jump in their 19-year-old season. It doesn’t always happen (see Nathan MacKinnon and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins), but conventional wisdom says that an offseason of working out, recovering from a wrist injury, and growing into your hockey body will only make you better.
What should we expect from Hischier? That’s hard to say right now. He could jump up to 70 points with some power play opportunities. He could only grow a little bit, but if the Devils four lines contribute that will be enough.
1. Taylor Hall Is The League MVP
The Devils have never had a defending MVP coming into the season. That changes in one month in Sweden. Taylor Hall won the first Hart Trophy in team history. He was insane on the ice, and everything you could want off of it. He’s getting a ton of extra attention this offseason, and that could motivate him to do what he did again.
Hall could even hit the 100 point plateau if Nico Hischier improves a little on his scoring ability. When a team has the league MVP in their locker room, fans can’t help but be optimistic about the upcoming season.