The New Jersey Devils are not the national darling they have been in recent years. Because of the sheer star power at the top of their depth chart, those on sources like NHL Network, The Athletic, Sportsnet, and other national platforms have chosen the Devils to take the “next step.”
This year, that’s not the case. Yes, just about everyone is picking the Devils to return to the playoffs, the first time they’d make the playoffs in back-to-back years since 2008-09 and 2009-10. But they all have the Devils finishing second in the Metropolitan Division behind the Carolina Hurricanes, and almost nobody has them as true Stanley Cup contenders.
There are a few reasons for this, but the main reason is their worry about injuries. On paper, the Devils have a competitive roster with the likes of everyone in the league. Luke Hughes, Simon Nemec, and (hopefully) Dawson Mercer are all expected to take a step forward this season. Arseny Gritsyuk looks like he’s NHL ready off the jump as a rookie. They have a great goaltending duo in Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen, and the stars are as good as just about any group of stars in the league.
However, the stars have had trouble staying in the lineup. Last season, both Jack Hughes and Luke Hughes, Jonas Siegenthaler, Dougie Hamilton, Jacob Markstrom, and Brett Pesce all missed significant time. Then, they saw Brenden Dillon, Johnny Kovacevic, and others get injured in the playoffs.
Still, this team has the talent to make a run, which is why they are still relatively high in betting odds for the Stanley Cup. And it turns out, someone once considered the Devils’ biggest individual rival is now buying what the front office is selling.
John Tortorella has coached for three teams in the Metropolitan Division, including the Devils’ two biggest rivals, the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers. While with the Rangers, the rivalry became personal. From all-out line brawls to screaming matches with Peter DeBoer, the Devils-Rangers rivalry took a step forward when Torts was there.
The Devils even dismissed Tortorella’s best chance at a Stanley Cup since winning it with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004 when they eliminated the Rangers in overtime of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Now with ESPN, Tortorella seems to have put that all behind him, choosing the Devils to win the Cup for the first time since 2003, the year before he won his own Cup. Maybe he’s superstitious and believes the Devils have to win the Cup for him to return and lift a Cup of his own, or maybe he legitimately believes the Devils will be the best team in the league this season.
Either way, it was interesting to see someone who had legitimate hate for the Devils one point now choose them as his Stanley Cup pick.
He was the only analyst to pick the Devils to win the Cup. Seven of the 25 experts did pick the Devils to win the Metropolitan Division, with the Hurricanes leading the pack with 15 votes. Either way, it’s great for the Devils to get this kind of recognition from a well-known name around the hockey world.