New Jersey Devils: How Likely Will These Players Make This Team?
By Nick Villano
The New Jersey Devils are in evaluation mode with their season officially ending in a few weeks. Who has earned a spot on next year’s team, and who will be playing hockey elsewhere?
Over the past few weeks, the New Jersey Devils were missing just about every star player on the roster due to injury. With just a handful of games left, and the entire team looking like they’re from Binghamton, this was a great opportunity for players that would usually be in the owner’s box or in the minors this time of the year to show what they can really do.
There’s no chance that most of these players make the main roster next season. Even if the Devils sign nobody, the emergence of some prospects and the myriad of players returning from injury sends most of them back to the AHL for a season. However, the Devils always seem to leave one spot undetermined going into training camp. It seems to be Ray Shero’s ideal situation to keep that door open so they can reward a player who earned his spot.
That spent went to John Quenneville this season out of camp, and it went to Brian Gibbons and Jesper Bratt the season before. Sometimes that line of thinking works out, and sometimes it doesn’t. However, with so many players getting a shot to make their NHL debut over the past few weeks, this gives Shero and head coach John Hynes plenty of players to choose from.
Some players in the lineup are close to guaranteed to make it, while others have little to no chance to be on next year’s team.
We will give every player that’s played games this season a percentage chance they will be on the Opening Night roster to start the 2019-20 season. We will them put them in descending order from most likely to least likely. Be prepared to see the bottom of the barrel.
To be clear, this is the percentage this player will be on the New Jersey Devils next October. Binghamton doesn’t count, but being a healthy scratch does count. We will take into effect likelihood this players gets traded, signed or just doesn’t make the team. Everything is on the table here. Injuries will not be considered into the percentage, because technically that player is still on the roster.