5 Achievable Season Milestones for New Jersey Devils Players

50 Points: Nikita Gusev, Nico Hischier, Kyle Palmieri

Unless they miss an extended amount of time over these final 30 contests, all three players are on pace to finish 2019-20 with at least 50 points. This would say a lot for each individual forward. They are playing on a team that’s spent the majority of the 2019-20 season as standings basement-dwellers and have currently scored the fifth-fewest goals in the league.

For Kyle Palmieri, it would mark the fourth time in his five seasons with New Jersey where he finished with at least 50 points (he had 44 points in 62 games in 2017-2018, which equates to 58 points over a full season).

This kind of strong finish for Nico Hischier would give him the second 50+ point season over his three-year career (Hischier also had 47 points in 69 games in 2018-19, which would have put him on pace for 55-56 points over a full season), and signal his development is progressing nicely.

It would perhaps be most meaningful for Nikita Gusev to reach the 50-point threshold. Not only would it make his first full NHL season a tremendous success, but also affirm how sweepingly Gusev acclimated to the North American style of play, and wasn’t inhibited by his inferior stature.

This should also make you wonder what numbers these players are capable of posting if they play on a deeper more talented roster—motivation for New Jersey Devils management to be aggressive on the player acquisition front this offseason.