New Jersey Devils: 20 Reasons Why 2021 Will Be Better Than 2020

The New Jersey Devils are looking at a better year in 2021.

Like most things, 2020 was awful for the New Jersey Devils. The team was in the middle of a lame-duck season despite having all of the hype in the world behind them coming in. 2019 spelled doom already for the season, with the firing of John Hynes, trading of Taylor Hall, and the last-place standing in the Metropolitan Division. Most Devils fans couldn’t wait to get out of 2019. 2020 found a way to suck even more.

The Devils played better, but they ended up trading fan favorite Blake Coleman (although, for a very good return), captain Andy Greene (for another decent return), and their big free-agent acquisition Wayne Simmonds. Oh, and the person that started the year as the GM didn’t make any of those moves. That’s because Ray Shero was fired in January.

This year is going to be better. Only because it has to be. Only because we will have actual hockey to watch. There are so many reasons why 2021 is set to be better than 2020.

Reason #1: Jack Hughes Is Ready For A Breakout

For the past few days, all Devils fans can talk about is 14 pounds. Or was it 16 pounds? It doesn’t really matter who’s math was off, but when Jack Hughes said he added more than a dozen pounds of pure muscle. Basically, Hughes spent quarantine getting yolked. That’s good news for fans looking forward to watching the Devils this season. Hughes was a mess on the ice at times, and he was making plays to teammates who couldn’t finish at others. He ended the season with 21 points. Even in 56 games, if Hughes ended the season with 21 points again, it would be a massive disappointment. Depending on how long Nico Hischier is injured, Hughes might be the top guy for a while. This could be the key to unlocking his breakout season.

Reason #2: Goaltending Is Not A Problem

The New Jersey Devils haven’t had a great tandem in net for what feels like forever. There was always one carrying the other. Keith Kinkaid carried the load in 2018 until he fell off the rails. Cory Schneider carried the load for years beforehand, but the injuries caught up to him. Now, the Devils have the young, successful Mackenzie Blackwood as the starter and the veteran Corey Crawford as the veteran ‘backup’. Every night, barring injury, the Devils will have a really good goalie in net.

Reason #3: Fighting For Spots In Training Camp

Last season, there was really only one open position in training camp. With the additions of P.K. Subban, Wayne Simmonds, and Nikita Gusev, there weren’t many open positions in training camp. Somehow, we knew those “open” positions would be going to Kevin Rooney and John Hayden no matter what happened in camp. This season, it really is open season. Lindy Ruff doesn’t know these players, so he has no preconceived opinions on the roster. That means Yegor Sharangovich, Michael McLeod, and Jesper Boqvist all have a shot to make an impression. The Devils have multiple open spots, so they can carry whoever looks best in camp.

Reason #4: Seeing The New Guys In A Devils Uniform

Last season, the Devils added huge names. It didn’t work. This season, new GM Tom Fitzgerald made much more calculated moves. It will still be a lot of fun to see the Devils new players wear the new uniform. The Devils added Crawford from the Chicago Blackhawks, Andreas Johnsson from the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Ryan Murray from the Columbus Blue Jackets. None of them are stars at this point in their careers, but they all make this roster a lot better.

Reason #5: All Rivalries All The Time

You know those games that come on at 10 p.m. EST against the Calgary Flames that most of us aren’t that interested in? It’s still Devils hockey, so we’ll stay up and watch, but it’s nowhere near as good as a Devils-Rangers game or a Devils-Flyers matchup. This season, every game will be against either the Rangers, Flyers, Penguins, Bruins, Sabres, Islanders, and Capitals. These teams are the most hated by Devils fans. Add in the fact that Taylor Hall is now in Buffalo, and now every game feels like a big game.

Reason #6: A Blank Slate Is Coming

It feels early to look ahead to next offseason, but the Devils have a big one coming. Travis Zajac, Kyle Palmieri, Nikita Gusev, Ryan Murray, Dmitry Kulikov, and Connor Carrick all have expiring contracts. There are no major restricted free agents coming next offseason (depending on what happens with Bratt), and the Devils are expected to have close to $40 million in cap space (assuming the Bratt contract counteracts the contract lost by the expansion draft). The Devils can completely change everything about this roster. They have so much space and roster space, this team could be unrecognizable by next season. Hopefully, they can re-sign one or two of these players.

Reason #7: A Fast And Furious Offseason

July is usually a big month for the NHL offseason, but this year things go up a notch. The Stanley Cup Playoffs are scheduled to end around July 9th. Then, teams have until July 17th to announce their protections for the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft. The actual expansion draft then happens four days later. Two days after that is the traditional NHL Entry Draft, which will last two days. Then, four days after the draft, free agency begins. So, from July 17th to the 28th, the Devils will make moves that will set them up for a long, long time.

Reason #8: Rooting Against The Rangers

This kind of goes with the rivalries, but there’s nothing like the rivalry with the Rangers. They took a lot out of the Devils falling off the rails last season. Now, we can do the same to them. Everyone is on the bandwagon after Artemi Panarin had an MVP-like season and they got the first-overall pick, Alexis Lafreniere. Everyone loves the Rangers talent, but they still have major flaws. The defense is still a major issue, and the Rangers still need huge seasons from just about everyone. Panarin needs to have another MVP-like season (which Hall showed is a difficult thing to ask from those who aren’t Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, or Connor McDavid). Mika Zibanejad or Chris Kreider needs to be point machines. They added Jack Johnson, Kevin Rooney, and Keith Kinkaid this offseason. This will only make them worse.

Reason #9: So Many Prospects To Keep Track Of All Season

Last season, the Devils had a decent string of prospects, but not a ton of them were lighting it up. Their best prospect was Ty Smith, who had an awesome season in the WHL. Tyce Thompson had a great season with Providence College. A lot of the other prospects the Devils had weren’t top of the card types. Now, the Devils are dealing with a much different situation. The Devils have some great prospects coming to Binghamton (Nolan Foote, Reilly Walsh, Kevin Bahl, and Nikita Okhotyuk) on top of the prospects who were already there. The Devils added Alexander Holtz, Dawson Mercer, and Shakir Mukhamadullin in the 1st round of the NHL Draft. They will all be playing in different leagues around the world. Following Devils prospects will be more fun this year than possibly in any year ever.

Reason #10: The Growth Of Nico Hischier

The New Jersey Devils got bad news right before training camp opened when it came out that Nico Hischier got hurt while training in Switzerland. He’s going to miss at least a couple of days in the beginning, but it shouldn’t impact his season. He’s expected to be a lot better this season. It’s his fourth year in the NHL. He will likely have similar linemates all season, one of which should be a contract-season Kyle Palmieri. He should be closer to 50 points in 56 games, which would equate to a 73-point season.

Reason #16: The Eventual Return Of Jesper Bratt

The fact that Jesper Bratt is starting off his year in a country that isn’t the U.S. He hasn’t signed a new contract, and rumors are he’s still in Sweden, which means he needs to pass very specific quarantine measures before he can join the team. When he does return, let’s hope he’s the same player that scored 16 points in the last 20 games of the season. If he comes back with the reckless abandon he was playing with before, then he will be a legitimate top-six player.

Reason #17: Returning To The Rock

Right now, the NHL is returning with no fans at certain arenas. One day, that will change. On that day, it will be a celebration. The COVID-19 vaccine is in distribution as we speak. Eventually, the state of New Jersey will feel there are enough people with the vaccine to safely reopen the Prudential Center. It’s more than likely that won’t happen until the 2021-22 season, but what a glorious day it will be to go back to The Rock. It will be great to hear Arlette sing the National Anthem, play along with whatever the goal song ends up being that season, cheer for a Hughes goal and a Subban hit. We can’t wait to hold Pucks and Pitchforks night for a Devils game.

Reason #18: The End Of The Mike Cammalleri Buyout

You probably didn’t expect to hear the name Mike Cammalleri on this list, but here we are. The Devils bought out Cammalleri back in 2017. It feels like a lot longer ago, but the Devils are finally going to get that cap penalty back once this season is over. They have been paying $1.67 million since he left the team. Thankfully, that ends the second the 2020-21 season ends.

Reason #19: Lindy Ruff Will Allow Chemistry To Build

Most fans were not happy with the addition of Lindy Ruff as head coach. He seemingly came out of nowhere when it came to the coaching search. Now that he’s hired, let’s look at the positives. Ruff has a lot of experience building great offensive lineups. He will allow these young players to build relationships on the ice. That’s something the previous coach didn’t do.

Reason #20: Hockey Is Back

It’s been 10 long months since the New Jersey Devils were on the ice playing professional hockey. The Devils didn’t get invited to the 24-team playoff tournament. They weren’t able to play spoiler. They went home and stayed home. But in 2021, the Devils will be playing hockey. We couldn’t be happier.