5 reasons New Jersey Devils are Stanley Cup contenders again

3. Depth, Depth, and Depth on Defense

The three “Ds” of Devils defense are all depth. It comes down to depth, depth, and depth for the blueline this year. If Dougie Hamilton struggles in his return from a torn pectoral, the Devils have depth. If Jonas Siegenthaler can’t bounce back after his down year, the Devils have depth. If Brett Pesce or Brenden Dillon struggle in new systems, the Devils have depth. If Luke Hughes or Simon Nemec need a night to recalibrate, well, you get the point.

The Devils currently have nine players who should be in the lineup nightly. The obvious top six is Pesce, Dillon, Hamilton, Nemec, Hughes, and Siegenthaler. However, the Devils re-signed Nick DeSimone this offseason after he was really good after he was claimed off waivers from the Flames. It was a great depth move. Too often, the Devils couldn’t rely on their seventh defenseman.

Then, the Devils continued to add depth with the trade for Jonathan Kovacevic. He was playing every night for the Montreal Canadiens, but he won’t be expected to do that for the Devils unless someone gets injured. 

On top of all that, the Devils have Santeri Hatakka. He will likely start the season with the Utica Comets if he makes it there. That gives the Devils more defensive depth than they’ve had in decades.