Analyzing New Jersey Devils Offseason Strategy

As of right now, Jack Hughes‘ game has been analyzed over and over, and there’s plenty to love. Now, let’s have some fun on the “if” portion of the NHL draft. With the slight possibility of Ray Shero going with a power forward winger who is fast, attacking, and supportive; Kaapo Kakko from Finland.

You would likely have a top 6 of Hall-Hischier-Kakko, Bratt-Boqvist-Palmieri. That would lead to a lot of good faith in Jesper Boqvist being a 2nd-line center. What if Ray Shero decided to part ways with Schneider or trades another goalie. In that case with one of my favorite goalies hanging around from The Cherry vs. Orr tournament I’m selecting Mads Sogaard.

Sogaard is a Danish goaltender who could be a steal with one of their 2nd or 3rd rounders. This kid is a beast at 6 foot 7 who could be a reasonable pickup. My scouting report on him is that he is a good passer with great vision. He knows how to cut opponents attacks when he is in the trapezoid. He is strong moving laterally, and he displays solid vision in net. According to NHL Central Scouting, Mads is ranked number 2 for North American goaltenders after playing with the Medicine Hat Tigers.

The next “if” is trading for Kasperi Kapanen or William Nylander. The Toronto Maple Leafs are still $4 Million under the salary cap before Commissioner Gary Bettman announces the new cap. This means if one of the two are available Kyle Dubas will likely want Jesper Boqvist, Jeremy Davies, and maybe a 2nd and a 3rd to cover for a William Nylander deal.

The next scenario “if” is signing Erik Karlsson as a UFA. Who knows if Erik Karlsson makes it to market or not. As site expert Nick Villano once said on The Let’s Go Devils Podcast “you don’t worry about paying the superstars” and that is the truth. Players like Erik Karlsson are worth every darn penny on the fan and owners dollar the moment they put that ink to the paper.

Ray Shero has the full support of Devils owners Joshua Harris and David Blitzer to acquire “more talent” as Shero said during the Devils breakup day week. Stars are beginning to align and if he Devils can’t sign Jeff Skinner from Buffalo then we have Taylor Hall‘s old teammate Jordan Eberle.

If Ray Shero can bring in Jordan Eberle to fill in on the right wing position, that adds speed, veteran leadership, and scoring that would take pressure off Kyle Palmieri. My sense is that if Ray sticks to drafting Jack Hughes and ignores the hype of Kaapo Kakko my ideal team would look more like Hall-Hughes-Boqvist, Bratt-Hischier-Palmieri, Wood-Zajac-Anderson, Agostino-McLeod-Zacha.

First line would have a mix of speed, dynamics, skill, high end talent that would be very lethal for most teams to contain. Second line is speed, finesse, and a true sniper in Palmieri. Third line is more of the speed, physicality, grit, and strong forecheck line for dirty goals and lucky bounces. Fourth line is more finesse, speed, some grit, and strong forechecking. This can be healthy balance in pre-season.

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Ray Shero and his staff are going to look very hard on how to improve from last season by getting more defense, scoring, and improving the goaltending situation. Gilles Senn is going to start in Binghamton most likely and Cam Johnson will likely be the call up when needed while Senn gets accustomed to North American ice.

There is a lot of things that Ray Shero is going to try and move forward. Last year defense was a big miss due to lack of experience and not enough talent that really stunted the growth. Taylor Hall missed majority of the 2018-2019 season that really led to a downward spiral. Goaltending with Keith Kinkaid and Cory Schneider was very bleak before a young net minder in MacKenzie Blackwood was summoned from Binghamton to do wonders.

Then there were moments where average Joes like myself were astonished with the way Big Mac stunned teams like the Boston Bruins with a victory. Normally when Devils goalies play in Boston it always seems there is a funny bounce, and guys like Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak usually get nice crisp chances to score.

What Is likely to happen is that John Hynes will either have Kakko or Hughes in his lineup to pair with Taylor Hall. My expectations for Taylor Hall is to see him to have a comeback season, and be able to get him to be effective similar to his Hart Trophy season. My expectations for Jack Hughes if drafted would be similar of Nico Hischier‘s first two season if not better. However if Kaapo Kakko is drafted I’d assume he would be able to create offense, and learn to play a well rounded game.

Regardless of who Ray Shero selects The New Jersey Devils are getting a franchise player. I foresee both Hughes and Kakko both going to be Calder Trophy candidates. By the time puck drop begins for The New Jersey Devils there will be a similar feel since the Nico vs. Nolan draft. Anyhow I predict the pressure between Devils and Rangers fans to reach playoff type levels with both Hughes and Kakko being 20 minutes by train from Newark Penn Station, and Madison Square Garden. This upcoming season is going to be huge for an up and coming Devils team building to try and be competitive, maybe try and push for playoffs with the right veteran additions. This Hudson River Rivalry could go really bonkers for more than a decade.

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