Are New Jersey Devils Really Furthest Away From Championship In New York?

The New Jersey Devils were mentioned on The Ringer podcast “New York, New York“, which is hosted by former WFAN radio host John Jastremski. It wasn’t really in a good light. “JJ”, as he’s named on the pod, said the Devils were the least likely New York media market team to win a title in the four major sports in the next three years. To be fair to Jastremski, he’s not the biggest hockey guy. He might not even know all the pieces the Devils have added, but it’s worth addressing in the meantime.

The Devils were put up against the Yankees, Mets, Rangers, Islanders, Giants, Jets, Knicks, and Nets. Of those nine teams, are the Devils really last on the list? To be fair to Jastremski, he said the Devils, Jets, and Giants can be put in the same basket of teams furthest away from a championship.

It’s not a surprise that a fan who puts hockey fourth out of the four major sports would easily put the Devils at the bottom of this list. The Devils don’t deserve more benefit of the doubt. They made the playoffs once in the past nine seasons. The team was awful last year and once again qualified for a top-five pick in the NHL Draft. However, with so many top picks on the roster, are they really that far away?

The Devils added Dougie Hamilton in the offseason, giving them the player they haven’t had since Taylor Hall was traded. They haven’t had someone who was considered one of the best in the league at their position. The analytics show Dougie Hamilton as a monster on the right side of the defense. There aren’t many right-handed defensemen that are better right now. Add that to Jack Hughes, who is looking to have a monster breakout season, and this team could be fun. Will they be good? That has a lot to do with the goalie tandem of Mackenzie Blackwood and Jonathan Bernier, but no matter what, this team will be fun to watch.

Are the Devils really the furthest New York team from a championship?

In three years, the Devils will see a lot of these young players entering their prime. It’s still hard to perceive them as contenders with these players still waiting to be at their best, and the Devils need players like Alexander Holtz, Luke Hughes, and Dawson Mercer to hit their ceilings, but it’s possible that the Devils could be a team to be reckoned with in the next three years.

The issue here is the other teams on the list are much closer to a title. Let’s start with hockey. The Islanders were in the Eastern Conference Finals last season. They added Zach Parise and lost Jordan Eberle. They could be just as good this season, and with some luck could make it to the Stanley Cup Final. The Rangers and Devils are going on similar trajectories, but there is one major difference. The Rangers signed Artemi Panarin. He’s the superstar the Devils need on the wing. He clearly had one place he wanted to go to, and he chose the Rangers. Now, he is on a team that could be really good as soon as next season if things start to work out.

As far as the other teams, the Jets have some hope because of Zach Wilson, but that roster needs a ton of work. They are probably going to be terrible again this season. The Giants are in a worse spot if Daniel Jones can’t figure it out. The rest of the Giants roster isn’t as bad as the Jets, but if the man under center can’t win them games, then they are going to lose.

In basketball, the Nets might be the favorite to win it all in the NBA last season. Meanwhile, the New York Knicks were the four seed in the Eastern Conference last season while putting together a ragtag group of young guys and former send offs. They could add a superstar at any moment, and that puts them in a different stratosphere as the Devils.

The Yankees and Mets are massive disappointments this season, but they COULD win a title this year or next year if they get hot. They probably won’t because there’s something off with both of these teams, but they have the number-one starting pitcher to carry them in the postseason.

The Devils aren’t as far from a championship as they were six months ago, but they are still much further from the top teams in New York. There is work to do with this roster, and anything can happen in hockey, but the Devils have to prove they can win with the combination of this roster and this coaching staff. Lindy Ruff, Alain Nasreddine, and Mark Recchi struggled to respond to last season’s issues. Was that a result of the pandemic and an overall weak roster, or are they going to struggle despite the talent? We will find out this season.

Let’s enjoy the ride without worrying about when the championship window opens, but to think it can’t open in the next three years is preposterous.