5 New Jersey Devils players who will be MUCH better next season
The New Jersey Devils were possibly the biggest disappointment in the NHL next season. After a successful offseason, the Devils will now rely on a few internal players who will have much better seasons to project them and this team back into the playoffs.
The New Jersey Devils took a few steps to create a different environment for the locker room and on the ice this season. Tom Fitzgerald made multiple moves that focus on grit but also removed some of the question marks going into next season. Most people expected Akira Schmid, Kevin Bahl, Alexander Holtz, and John Marino to play better next season, but it was clear the Devils didn't want to take any chances. They instead traded them away for parts and signed Brett Pesce, Brenden Dillon, and others to signify a chance in expectation.
There are a few players who did just fine last season. Jesper Bratt was fantastic as usual. Timo Meier was incredible in the second half of this season after he recovered from injury. Jack Hughes had his own injury issues, but he looked like a superstar. That's.... about it.
So with such a large pool of possible return to form (or finding a new form), who are the Devils players that are going to have a better season in 2024-25?
Dawson Mercer
2023-24 Points: 33
We'd just like to start by saying that Dawson Mercer is 22 years old. Do we realize that? He is twenty-freaking-two. Only two players from the 2020 NHL Draft have more games played in the NHL than Mercer, and it was clear the Devils knocked it out of the park with the Mercer pick. The calls for him to get traded this offseason were insane.
We're also not going to pretend he had a good season in 2023-24. Yes, he did score 20 goals again, but that was about the only positive. It was a fun narrative to say that Mercer was better than 2020 first-overall pick Alexis Lafrenierre, but that wasn't true last season. Mercer's defense took a step back. His playmaking was basically non-existent. He could not play center with any type of consistency. It was a bad season.
However, this has all the makings of a bounce back. This is likely just a sophomore slump delayed by a season. Mercer is still growing as an NHL player, and he had trouble sticking to one role last year. The line blender hit him especially hard. This season, he looks poised to find a spot with either Jack Hughes or Nico Hischier.
That consistency in the top six will allow him to just eat the assists. If he's with Hughes, who it makes sense right now, he will have opportunities that stack up. He'll also have every chance to showcase why he's a much better player than last season.
Ondrej Palat
2023-24 Points: 31
There was a surprisingly large contingent of fans calling for the Devils to buy out Ondrej Palat. It was always a ridiculous premise, with the Devils finding other ways to make money available. It was never happening, and that proved to be true as the buyout window came and went and Palat is still a member of the Devils.
Where it is not entirely surprising is the actual performance that Palat put forth last season. He finished the year with just 11 goals and 31 points. This is despite getting pretty ample time to the top six.
Palat is going into the third year of his five-year deal. After this season, he will have two years left. It seems like the Tampa Bay Lightning had squeezed a lot of the juice out of Palat, going to the Stanley Cup Final three years in a row. He’s suffered pretty significant injuries in both his seasons in New Jersey, and it clearly impacted his play.
The Devils will probably have times where Palat needs to play in the top six. That hasn’t always worked out in the past, but the Devils are hoping to get a healthy Palat next season, and that will lead to the guy we saw facing the Rangers in the playoffs.
Timo Meier
2023-24 Points: 52
We already talked about Timo Meier and how he was much, much better in the second half of the season. When really looking at everything, Meier actually just had this insane March and the rest of the season was more or less a wash. He had some alright stretches, but there was nothing like March. The Devils gave Meier close to $9 million per season to look like he did in March.
Of course, a few injuries are why Meier looked like he did for most of the season. He was basically plundering on the ice and it was clear it wasn’t the Meier anyone was expecting. He returned from injury on December 1st and didn’t get a point until December 21st. It was a rough stretch for a great player. He also had a few rough stretches across the season.
The Devils found magic with Bratt-Hischier-Meier. The pairing made sense, and it’s strange that Lindy Ruff/Travis Green took so much time to keep that pairing together over the time term. Away from Hischier and Bratt, Meier had a negative Corsi For Percentage and high-danger chance percentage (per Natural Stat Trick).
Meier is going to look like a superstar again. He is steeped in his prime and will be with his best linemates since playing with the Devils. Sheldon Keefe will find the best way to use Meier, and he could have a career year.
Luke Hughes
2023-24 Points: 47
This one is basically expected as Luke Hughes is coming off an inconsistent rookie year where he showcased exactly how good he could be without coming close to his peak. He did finish in the top three for the Calder Trophy, but many (including this writer) felt like Simon Nemec had an overall better season. It’s not a bad place, since Nemec is also a superstar defensive prospect, but Hughes had some lapses that needed work.
Hughes was dynamic and was, at times, the fastest player in the NHL. He’s been able to score goals from one end of the ice to another. This is a superstar in the making. He has all the tools to be amazing one day.
However, his defensive lapses had some calling for him to be benched. While that’s extreme, it can’t be understated how important Hughes will be to the future of this franchise. Obviously, the Hughes brothers are essential to this franchise from a moneymaking standpoint, but they will also be huge for the on-ice product.
Luke Hughes has everything going for him, and he’s be paired with a fantastic player. The right side of the Devils’ defense is stacked. This allows Hughes to focus on what he does best. On top of that, the Devils’ power play cannot be worse. Hughes will get 10 or more added points to his total on a positive power play on its own.
Tomas Tatar
2023-24 Points: 24
Just seeing the points written on the page, boy did Tomas Tatar have an awful season away from New Jersey last year. He signed with the Colorado Avalanche after he was unable to get a long-term deal done with anyone in free agency. He reportedly turned down a two-year deal from the Devils, which turned out to be a mistake that cost him millions.
He failed with the Avalanche and was eventually traded to the Seattle Kraken. Tatar was much, much better in the Pacific Northwest than he was playing in the elevation. He had 15 points in 43 games. That’s nothing to get too excited about, but he had eight goals against just one goal in Colorado.
Tatar was fantastic in his second year in Jersey. He had 20 goals and 28 assists, playing all 82 games, most of which were next to Hischier. The Devils captain had his best season and secured second place in the Selke nomination behind a retiring Patrice Bergeron. He did that with Tatar next to him. Will Sheldon Keefe put Tatar with Hischier? We assume it will at least happen at some point this season.
Truthfully, Tatar is almost guaranteed to have a better season than last year. He just can’t completely fumble like he did in what was a humbling season.
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