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New Jersey Devils: Grading Every Metropolitan Team’s 2019 NHL Draft

By Vincent Parise

VANCOUVER, BC - JUNE 21: A general view of the draft floor prior to the New Jersey Devils pick during the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft at Rogers Arena on June 21, 2019 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images)
VANCOUVER, BC - JUNE 21: A general view of the draft floor prior to the New Jersey Devils pick during the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft at Rogers Arena on June 21, 2019 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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New Jersey Devils Jack Hughes
(Photo by Derek Cain/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

The New Jersey Devils and their Metropolitan Division rivals are all done with the NHL Draft. Now, they will look to develop this crop of prospects but who drafted the best?

The 2019 NHL Draft is over for the New Jersey Devils and the rest of the Metropolitan Division. There were winners and losers from the draft all across the league, but for the most part, the Metro was solid. They were probably bested by the Central as far as the best division in 2018-19 but they were there two years ago and they certainly could be right back there in 2019-20.

The Devils had the first pick and the Rangers had the second pick, so the two bottom feeders in the division are getting much better. Then, add in that each team has their new number one defenseman via trades. Some of these teams will have some action on July 1st when unrestricted free agents become available.

This division has three of the last four Stanley Cup Champions with Pittsburgh going back to back in 2016 and 2017 and the Washington Capitals winning in 2018. Six of the eight teams in the division made an Eastern Conference Finals appearance since 2010, including a surprise appearance by the Carolina Hurricanes this past season. This is historically a really solid division that has eight teams with high expectations pretty much every year.

With that said, there is probably a shift of powers coming within the division. Washington, Pittsburgh, and Columbus have been the best teams in this division lately, but the Devils and Rangers are coming and want to get the Hudson River Rivalry back on top in the division like it once was.

So let’s grade every team in the Metropolitan Division based on how they performed on draft weekend. Any moves that were made on Friday or Saturday will be taken into consideration. The Devils are going to be a better this upcoming season but every team in the division also believes that.

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