2016-17 record: 28-40-14 (70 points)
Missed the playoffs
Captain: Andy Greene
The rebuilding process for the New Jersey Devils has been long, slow, and often painful, and never was that any more evident than last season, when just about everything went wrong and they finished last in the Conference. The good news is that their talent level will be improved. The bad news is that it's barely moving the needle and they will likely endure another long season.
The offense of the Devils is slowly, but surely improving, as they went from last in the league to last in the Conference, as only Vancouver and Colorado were worse. Kyle Palmieri and Taylor Hall will be getting some help, as Marcus Johansson and possibly Nico Hischier will join the team. Hischier is a favorite to stick with the team straight out of the draft, as Travis Zajac is out with injury to start the season, and they're woefully thin in the middle. On the wings, the Devils are fairly good, as Hall and Palmieri are joined by Adam Henrique, Johansson, and Drew Stafford. The defense has the players to field a competent squad, but no real chemistry to even field one competent pairing. Andy Greene will be 35 during the season, and many of the good offensive players from the blue line have defensive issues, though Damon Severson should improve with one less distraction, as he was recently signed to a new deal. Goaltending, once a strength, was an unmitigated disaster, as Cory Schneider was uncharacteristically awful, and by the end of the season, was splitting starts with Keith Kinkaid. Special teams were just as bad as the team's five-on-five play, and outside of Hischier, help from the pipeline isn't really expected, particularly if players such as Michael McLeod and Nathan Bastian don't make the team out of training camp.
Prediction: 8th in the Metropolitan Division
Expect another brutal year in New Jersey, where just about everything needs to go right just to be competitive. The offense will be a little better, but unless Schneider rebounds from a horrible season, that improvement may be all for naught.
No comments:
Post a Comment