Are the New Jersey Devils playoff contenders? Possibly, but what needs to happen for them to take it a step further beyond that?
Every year, it seems there is a surprise team that really pushes the “true” contenders to the limit. Last season, that was the Montreal Canadiens. One year ago today, the Canadiens were about 50/1 to win the Stanley Cup. They weren’t great at anything, their top players weren’t the superstars that other teams had, and their biggest names were a goalie who couldn’t stay consistent and a top defenseman who couldn’t stay healthy.
Yet, they went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. It was a magical run that came just short. Two seasons ago, it was the New York Islanders who went on a run to the Conference Finals. St. Louis turned their Cinderella run into a Stanley Cup Championship in 2019. These runs happen constantly, and sometimes it is the transition a team sees from bottom feeder to long-term contender. They just need that one season to build confidence.
Can the New Jersey Devils contend for the Stanley Cup? Only if these five very specific things go right.
The New Jersey Devils can be that team, but only if everything, and we mean everything, goes right. We made the same predictions last season mostly in jest. It asked for P.K. Subban to turn into a Norris-level defenseman again and Corey Crawford to come in and play lights out. Those are both laughable now, but the whole premise was sort of a Kevin Garnett yelling “anything is possible” without the backing of a championship behind it.
This Devils team has a *chance* to get to heights. Is the chance higher than 25%? Probably not, but as the Dumb and Dumber GIF says, you’re saying there’s a chance. The Devils need a lot to fall into place, and it starts with these five things.