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New Jersey Devils: 5 Things That Must Happen To Make Playoffs

By Nick Villano

The New Jersey Devils celebrate their overtime win over the Boston Bruins at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
The New Jersey Devils celebrate their overtime win over the Boston Bruins at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports /
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3. Major Jumps From Nico Hischier And Jack Hughes

The New Jersey Devils need the absolute best from the two players who are saddled with leading this franchise into the next era. Former number-one overall picks Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier are the straw that stirs the drink. If they are cruising, the Devils will be in very good shape. They both have the skillset to control an entire offense by themselves. They have the ability to lift their linemates up to their level. Hughes did this last season with Janne Kuokkanen and Yegor Sharangovich.

Hughes and Hischier have to be even better this season. We’ll start with Hughes. He had some terrible shooting luck last season. Hughes was on the ice for 128 high-danger chances at 5v5. He was only on the ice for 16 high-danger goals. He was still second on the team to Miles Wood for high-danger goals on the ice, but his line needs to score around 20% of its high-danger chances.

The Devils didn’t really do anything to help Hughes’ wingers. Tatar seems like a better fit for Hischier’s wing, but that is still to be determined. There was insane chemistry between Hughes, Sharangovich, and Kuokkanen, but the line could get a lot better. The Devils still have around $13 million in cap space, so stay tuned.

Hischier had the year from hell last season. He got injured in offseason training, immediately got COVID when he was set to return, which the return took longer than most of us hoped, when he finally took the ice, P.K. Subban hit him in the face with a deflected shot, and he had to wear a cage for the rest of the season after breaking his jaw.

It literally couldn’t go worse for Hischier. It all depends on what he gets from his wingers, but he needs to build them up. Hughes needs to take another step forward. He was on his way before his own COVID diagnosis caused him to lose a lot of the muscle he built in the offseason. He just needs to make the same progress he was making last season and things will be in good shape.

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