The Devils are going to make three picks in the 1st round of the NHL Draft.
The New Jersey Devils had an okay day with the results of Saturday’s playoff games. They secured three 1st-round picks in the 2020 NHL Draft. Two of the team’s perceived 1st-round picks were in flux based on the results of the Arizona Coyotes and Vancouver Canucks series. Each team won in overtime of Game 4, and now the Devils need to take advantage of these assets.
The Coyotes won on an overtime goal by Brad Richardson as they took down the Nashville Predators in four games. Chris Tanev scored in overtime to give the Vancouver Canucks an overtime win over the Minnesota Wild in four games. They were interesting games all around, but the prevailing fact is its good news the Devils are going to get three 1st-round picks in a popular draft class.
The only issue is the Arizona one. Arizona losing would have given them a 12.5 percent chance at winning the lottery and the right to draft Alexis Lafreniere. However, if they lost and didn’t win the lottery, the Devils would have a much higher pick than they would have had. Them advancing secures the pick in 2020 but makes it a little bit lower of a pick.
Both selections given to them are probably going to be in the same vicinity of the first round. They need to hit on these picks so they can add more to their farm system. They have a lot of talented young players in their NHL lineup that needs a lot of help. These picks might really help that cause.
Vancouver’s pick came to the Devils via the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Blake Coleman trade. Tampa had the pick in the trade that sent J.T. Miller to Vancouver. Arizona’s first-round pick came to New Jersey in exchange for Taylor Hall. Now, this is a very good draft so hopefully, they are able to win the draft again and take another step towards becoming a contender.