New Jersey Devils: Nikita Gusev Makes This A Top-Five Team In East

The New Jersey Devils ended last season as the second worst team in the Eastern Conference. This season, they’ll go in with a talent pool you could put against just about anyone.

This may be biased, but the New Jersey Devils have a roster we’d be willing to put up against just about anyone. Before Monday, the Devils had a decent forward group and a much better defensive core. They have a former MVP in Taylor Hall, two centers that are budding into elite in Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier, a legit scorer in Kyle Palmieri and some wild cards in the top six like Jesper Bratt and Jesper Boqvist.

Then, there’s Wayne Simmonds who signed in the offseason. He’s trying to make a comeback after the worst season of his career. He’s 30 years old, but we’re acting like he’s close to the end. He is still very capable of a bounce back. He’s another player that could play in the top six.

Then, the Devils went and added the best international player on the market for two draft picks. Nikita Gusev couldn’t fit more perfectly in this top six, at least on paper. Yes, there are risks, but everything he’s doing seems to translate well to the NHL game. Gusev has an insane shot that freezes a goalie. He can put pucks where they need to go, and will pair well with Jack Hughes.

Just think, this isn’t the Devils forward lines in our dreams, this is the Devils lineup for real:

Taylor Hall-Nico Hischier-Kyle Palmieri
Nikita Gusev-Jack Hughes-Jesper Bratt
Blake Coleman–Travis Zajac-Wayne Simmonds
Miles Wood–Pavel Zacha-Jesper Boqvist

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Wow. The Devils are putting out four solid lines. We haven’t seen lines this good since the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs. In fact, this team is probably better. Coleman was second on the team with 22 goals last season, and he’s on the team’s third line. Wood had a bad season last year, and Zacha was inconsistent, but they ended the season very well. Wood was on a 25-goal pace over the final 16 games. Zacha had a point per game after returning from injury in March. If they can build off that momentum, that could be a great fourth line.

The teams in the Eastern Conference that are better on paper than the Devils today are the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Boston Bruins, the Toronto Maple Leafs (if they keep Mitch Marner), and that’s probably it. Not say the Devils are the best team in the Metropolitan Division, but they are definitely in the conversation.

Even the defense looks great after the addition of P.K. Subban and Ty Smith. That completely changes the unit that needed the most help. Damon Severson and Sami Vatanen are really good defensemen, but they shouldn’t be the player to carry a defense. Having them as second and third defensemen? Now that’s a good unit.

Gusev is a wild card. He could have trouble transitioning to a whole new world. He’s 27 years old and spent his whole life in Russia. Now, he’s playing in New Jersey, which is close to the opposite of Russia. Instead of vast areas of mountains, they have the vast pavement of the Garden State Parkway. Who knows how that will impact his thought process?

dark. Next. Brilliant Move Adding Nikita Gusev

Still, we expect him to get 50 points without trying very hard. That will be a major upgrade to what the Devils had before.

Add in the rest of the Devils roster, and this is a team that can beat any team on any given night. The only real question mark is in net. Cory Schneider and Mackenzie Blackwood were very good at the end of last season, but we can’t rely on that happening again. One of the two will probably play well, but we thought that last year with Schneider and Keith Kinkaid, and we saw how that worked out.

The Devils would have to hope to get March Blackwood and Cory if they are going to actually become a top-five team in the Eastern Conference. With the forward lines now stacked, this is a team we can be proud of.

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