New Jersey Devils: Using Fantasy Predictions To Assess Point Totals
By Nick Villano
Jack Hughes: 18 goals, 33 assists, ADP 144
While some people are predicting Jack Hughes could get close to 60 points, fantasy predictions are much, much lower. Hughes is getting a total of 55 points here, which is 10 points higher than his 2021 pace, so there’s something there. It still feels like a disappointment if Hughes ends this season with 55 points. He’s expected to make a jump, and if that jump comes with just 10 points higher than the pace he had during the season he was dealing with COVID and two brand new linemates, then it will come way short of our expectations.
Nico Hischier: 22 goals, 31 assists, 166 Unranked
Nico Hischier was once considered an undrafted player in Yahoo leagues, which was a massive surprise. There are other players fantasy owners are keen on taking a chance on like Alexis Lafreniere or Craig Smith. Nico Hischier is going to be much better this season, only because he can’t possibly have the same injury luck. 22 goals would be a career-high for Hischier, who hasn’t seen the same offensive success he had with Taylor Hall in his rookie year.
Yegor Sharangovich: 24 goals, 22 assists, 170 Unranked
Yegor Sharangovich is looking to have a career season after breaking out last year on the left of Jack Hughes. He looks even better in the preseason and during the offseason games while playing for Belarus. His goal scoring has gone up a notch, and Hughes increased ability to make plays should lead to high-danger chances for Sharangovich. This is probably a little low for our liking, but not by much.
Pavel Zacha: 18 goals, 23 assists, ADP Unranked
Pavel Zacha likely isn’t going to be a fantasy option, but it’s interesting to see where they see his stats moving after a huge performance in 2021. He had 17 goals and 18 assists in 50 games last season. It was his career-high in goals, and he had a 57-point pace for an 82-game season. Here, the predictor thinks Zacha is only going to have 41 points, which is a much bigger drop in production. This would be a massive disappointment, and it might force Lindy Ruff to consider where Zacha fits best because these numbers aren’t worthy of top-six minutes on an actual contending team.