Ranking New Jersey Devils Possible Division Opponents
The NHL will need to change things up this season thanks to the pandemic. It appears all Canadian teams being moved to one division. While none of those teams play in the Metropolitan division, the New Jersey Devils will be competing against different opponents within their division almost for sure.
The rumors that were floated around earlier in the offseason were a division featuring the New Jersey Devils, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabers, Carolina Hurricanes, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, and Washington Capitals. This was followed up with The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reporting that they believe the Hurricanes will be swapped with the Penguins.
It would be a surprise if the Pittsburg Penguins were moved away from their biggest rival in the Flyers. It makes sense that the Pens stay in the same division as the Devils.
As it stands currently with this the change is the Loss of the Penguins/Hurricanes and Blue Jackets while adding the Bruins and Sabers. So the Devils are better off no matter what, losing two teams that are going to be better than them almost for sure.
The playoffs will likely be expanded again and in a division, with 8 teams the NHL could decide to give 2 teams a by and make team numbers 3-6 play another round or go for the less likely option and have 4 make the playoffs. So going off the 6 teams make the playoffs model how should the Devils fare.
Last season this division would have been a division of death and this upcoming one will be no different. The Devils will need to step it up huge to have a chance and here are how things in the division would have looked last year and where they placed in the league.
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Boston 1st
Capitals 5th
Flyers 6th
Penguins 7th
Hurricanes 11th
Islanders 15th
Rangers 16th
Sabers 25th
Devils 26th
This means the division had the best team in the regular season, two or three other top 10 teams, three in the middle, and two bottom-end teams. So what has changed over the offseason that could impact this in a big way?
1. Boston
Too solid to drop far if at all. They have a great system and the most efficient line in hockey.
2. Capitals
The Capitals are still fantastic and with solid goaltending will be at the top like they have been for years.
3. Hurricanes/Penguins
The Hurricanes have the best defensive core in the league. Not enough people talk about how close they are to being a top-tier team. The offense will be even better with Vincent Trochek and Jesper Fast in middle-six roles. Andrei Svechnikov could show himself as a premier goal scorer this season as well.
As for the Penguins, they should be close again with the Flyers, but in a short year, having stars who can stay hot for a long stretch of it could be a huge deal this year. The late addition of Jason Zucker really went well for them and he will continue to thrive in the top six with a guaranteed star center. The Pens may be trending down soon, but they are by no means finished yet so expect them to make the playoffs.
Early Look At Devils Line Combinations. dark. Next
4. Flyers
The Flyers are well rounded even with a few bad contracts and may get back Nolan Patrick. The rest of the young players on the team are taking steps forward and they will be competitive again.
5. Rangers
They have an amazing goaltending tandem even if it is not proven. They also have a monster top line. Adding the first-overall draft picks and future superstar Alexis Lafreniere will improve them right away even though this is hard to say as a Devils fan.
6. Sabers
On the rise for the first time in what must feel like forever is the Sabers, even if it is only temporary. Signing Taylor Hall will be massive and now they can run a top-heavy lineup with Hall, Jack Eichel, Jeff Skinner, Sam Reinhart, and Victor Olofsson. Those players in any combination will be all over opposition defenders. The defense is better than it shows but goaltending may hold them back again and it should be an exciting team to watch either way as a fan.
7. Islanders
Adding Jean-Gabriel Pageau and running one of the best systems in the game under coach Barry Trotz will keep them in the running, but other teams improving might push them down a bit as they lack the high-end skill of almost all the other teams.
8. Devils
This one hurts as a Devils fan, but until they prove otherwise there is no other spot for them. Adding Dmitri Kulikov and Ryan Murray helps, but they still could have the weakest defense in the entire division. As for forwards, they have a lot of potential but none are even close to a point a game player. They can take a big step this season and unfortunately be a ways back from most of the teams above them. They need to compete especially with the bottom 4 teams. Goaltending will be key with Mackenzie Blackwood and Corey Crawford doing a lot of the heavy lifting.