The NHL is mere days away. Every team and fanbase has varying degrees of optimism ranging from realistic to delusional. With that optimism comes some scorching takes. And that is no different when it comes to the New Jersey Devils. They are a team riding high off their breakout season in 2022-23, and the sky truly is the limit. With that comes a bit of potential over-optimism. Here at Last Word, we’re delivering some bold predictions for the New Jersey Devils ahead of the new season.
Bold Predictions for This Year’s New Jersey Devils Team
There Will Be Six 30-Goal Scorers
The Devils teams of the past decade were starved for just multiple 20-goal scorers, let alone multiple 30-goal scorers. But times are different and the Devils offence is the real deal. Last season they had just three (Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier), and that’s not including Timo Meier who scored 40 goals but only nine with the Devils. This offseason they acquired Tyler Toffoli who is coming off a career-high 34 goals as well. In Lindy Ruff’s high-octane offence, repeat 30+ goal seasons would hardly be bold. However, there have been only three teams in NHL history to have six 30-goal scorers in one season.
Where it begins to spice up is who the other two of the six are. The first is Dawson Mercer. In just his second season Mercer found a scoring touch and registered 27 goals. Goal scoring is not the primary strength of his game, but something he has quickly improved on. Despite his young age, he is as fearless as they come when he’s out on the ice. Mercer gets to the net and cleans up around the blue paint. If he continues to do so, in addition to shooting a little more, 30 goals is very attainable.
Our sixth and final 30-goal scorer is none other than Alexander Holtz. Had you said he would be a 30-goal scorer on draft night that wouldn’t have been that bold of a take. But given the tumultuous path taken to get the NHL, there’s some boldness in this assertion. However, Holtz is, and always has been, a natural goal scorer. And early on it seems as though he’ll be given a chance in the top six and on the powerplay. If his skating and defence can hold up throughout 82 games, there should be plenty of opportunities for him to score.
A Goalie Not on the Roster Will Lead the Devils in the Playoffs
Goaltending has been THE topic of discussion surrounding the New Jersey Devils in the offseason. Connor Hellebuyck has been the name thrown out there the most, but nothing has come to fruition. Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid will lead the lines this season, and while both played well last season as a whole, there have been enough inconsistencies to ask the question. Outside of those two, Erik Kallgren and Keith Kinkaid are the leftovers down in the AHL. The Devils are a good team there is no denying that, but in the postseason you typically go only as far as your goalies take you.
Whether through injury or poor play, the likelihood the Devils need another goalie is high. You saw how many goalies the Vegas Golden Knights went through to win the Stanley Cup last year. Like Vegas, it may not be a big-name goalie either. Who that goalie is is another question. To bolden this take we’re predicting it won’t be Hellebuyck, Dan Vladar, or any other goalie who has been in trade rumours in the past. Kaapo Kahkonen from the San Jose Sharks, Kevin Lankinen of the Nashville Predators, and Casey DeSmith from the Vancouver Canucks are three under-the-radar goalies that could have an Adin Hill-like impact.
Multiple Devils Win Awards
Last season the Devils had three award finalists at the NHL awards. Hischier, Hughes and Ruff all finished second in their respective categories (Selke, Lady Byng, Jack Adams). In addition, Hughes finished eighth in Hart voting and Dougie Hamilton finished sixth in Norris voting. If things break right for the Devils this year, they could win big at the awards next June.
The first and most egregious snub from last year was Tom Fitzgerald not being nominated for the Jim Gregory GM of the Year award. There may not be a more clear frontrunner for that award this time around. “Fitzy” has done nothing but improve the team through smart trades, savvy free agent signings, and getting core players to re-sign to team-friendly deals. This is a no-brainer.
After second place finishes in their categories last season, Hischier, Hughes, and Ruff will all finally take home silverware. With the retirement of Patrice Bergeron, Hischier is leading the pack to finish as the league’s best two-way forward. As for Hughes, he just missed out on winning the Lady Byng Award, losing to Anze Kopitar. Hughes exemplifies what it means to be an elite player in the league while playing the game the right way with sportsmanship, as evident by his lack of penalties. Finally, Lindy Ruff will yet again lead the Devils to another strong campaign and be awarded the Jack Adams for Coach of the Year. All it took was Jim Montgomery to have a historic season with the Boston Bruins to beat out Ruff.
Next up is Luke Hughes capturing the Calder. Connor Bedard is the heavy betting favourite for the award, but Luke has age and NHL experience on his side. The Devils are going to rely on him to take on a lot of the scoring burden left behind by Ryan Graves and Damon Severson. Bedard may struggle on a very poor Chicago Blackhawks team, but Luke Hughes will put up big numbers in a top-four role on the Devils.
Our final award prediction is the boldest: Jack Hughes to win the Hart. He finished eighth with two second-place votes last year. Hughes is still 22 years old, a superstar, and ready primed for his first 100-point season. Connor McDavid is and should be, the heavy favourite to win this award. Players like Auston Matthews, Nathan MacKinnon, David Pastrnak, Matthew Tkachuk, and McDavid’s teammate Leon Draisaitl will once again pose a threat to win the Hart. However, Jack Hughes continues to improve year after year and there are still parts of his game that he can improve. ESPN projects him to score 46 goals for 107 points, and while those are certainly elite numbers, a 40+ goal and 110+ point season is well within reach. Hughes is the real deal and should leave the season with a lot of hardware.
The Devils Will Win the President’s Trophy and Make the Stanley Cup Finals
Fresh off a season in which they broke the team record in wins and points, the Devils are just getting started. This team is filled with young, high-upside players that should be hungry for more. Last season’s President’s Trophy winners, the Boston Bruins, had an NHL record of 135 points. That will not happen again (we think). Teams like Carolina, Toronto, Edmonton, and Vegas all pose a threat for the top spot, but New Jersey has the makings of an offensive juggernaut. Oddsmakers have the Devils projected to finish second in points behind Carolina. This would also be the organization’s first-ever President’s Trophy, breaking yet another team record.
Doubling down on the boldness is them making it to the Stanley Cup Finals. This is where all our previous predictions have led to. Their forward core is one of the deepest in the league, and based on these predictions, Luke Hughes will greatly improve the defence. Jack Hughes will play MVP-calibre hockey, and Nico Hischier will be the best defensive centre in the league. Another callback to a previous prediction is getting an elite performance from their goaltender. Whoever, that may be will have an impact a la Adin Hill. As for who they meet in the finals is anyone’s guess. But a date with another high-flying offence like Edmonton sure would be exciting. This promising young Devils team won’t just take one more step forward, but rather a massive leap into being the elite of the elite for a very long time.
Main photo: John Jones-USA TODAY Sports
