5 Realistic Goals For New Jersey Devils This Season
By Nick Villano
The New Jersey Devils have looked good to start the season. It changed the bar for realistic goals for the next 50 or so games.
It’s been a really good start for the New Jersey Devils to start the season. They beat the hated New York Rangers on Tuesday night and the Boston Bruins last weekend. With the Devils losing Corey Crawford to retirement before the season, waiting on visa issues for Jesper Bratt and Sami Vatanen, plus a lower-body injury to Nico Hischier had most of the team’s hope fall out the window.
The goals going into the season was basically to develop the young players. Mackenzie Blackwood is the clear number-one goalie for the foreseeable future. He’s just 24 years old and just signed a three-year deal. The Devils are happy to go all in on him, and he looks like he’s ready to take the reigns all by himself.
Jack Hughes is the number-one priority coming into the season. The Devils center had a terrible season statistically last year. He needed to start putting up points and gaining confidence on the ice. The season couldn’t have started better for him. He’s the only player in the league that’s averaging two points per game with at least three games played.
The goals for the Devils were very vague. Get better. Build towards a better future. Make sure there’s growth. Most of the goals dealt with looking ahead. However, after a strong start, the Devils can start looking to this season. There’s an outside chance they could be competitive for the entire season. There are still flaws, but once they get Bratt, Hischier, and Vatanen back, things will get better. And there’s a chance they can reach some realistic goals with actual numbers tied to them.