Ranking the Rankings: Did ESPN Get New Jersey Devils Top 100 Rankings Right?

The New Jersey Devils were well represented in the ESPN Top 100 players ranking for 2023-24. Did the writers get the rankings right?

The New Jersey Devils and Tampa Bay Lightning were the two teams with six players in ESPN’s Top 100 rankings last week. That shows how great it’s been for the Devils over the past 12 months. After years of rebuilding, the Devils are named in the same breath as a team that has been in the Stanley Cup Final and won two in three of the last four years.

In years past, it seemed like the Devils weren’t getting their due. Jack Hughes was deemed a fine asset who would be decent, but he was never talked about like an upper-echelon star except within the analytics community. It’s hard to get noticed when on a perennial loser. Now, he’s in the top five of this list.

We wanted to assess where all the Devils landed and if they deserved better or if they were a bit overrated. First, let’s talk about the players who missed the list entirely.

Dawson Mercer

Might be a little early for him. He has streaks where he is the best player on the ice, but that doesn’t always translate in the national media. He should be on these lists in no time.

John Marino

Despite his early season struggles, John Marino was great last year. We expect him to get back to his greatness, but defensive defensemen have trouble tracking on these lists.

Luke Hughes

We’d say we didn’t expect the rookie to make the list, but even Adam Fantilli and Logan Cooley make the honorable mention. Luke Hughes is definitely in that Calder Trophy race, so we thought he’d be in there with his competition.