Edited Aug. 15, 2022 at 12:13 p.m.
Quoting: edeangel84
I don’t understand the NJ hype I see on capfriendly. According to this site they should be an elite team the way people talk about their players. I think they had a disappointing offseason after missing out on Johnny Hockey.
Quoting: Mr_Gardoki
NJ, before this off-season, was well on their way up the ladder based on what they had. Hughes, Hischier, Bratt, Sharangovich, Hamilton, Severson, Graves, etc... Most of their issues were more based on a guys just needing more experience. This season they'll be healthier (remember Hughes missed half the season) and they added Palat and Marino. That's pretty significant IMO. Their goaltending is what will make or break them IMO. Blackwood has promise and this is probably a make or break season for him.
Devils where relying on their 5th, 6th and 7th string goalies for a significant portion of the season.
Got a whole 10 games from Bernier before his injury, Blackwood played with a busted heel for a 3rd of his games also.
With average goaltending, the Devils would have prevented 55-60 additional goals, which should have made them a 90 point team instead of a 60 point team.
That coupled with Hughes and Hamilton (who was nowhere near alright when he returned), Wood missing the entire year, being forced to dress Mason Geertsen for 25 games all meant that a disaster was inevitable.
Not many teams could've remained competitive under such circumstances.
Palat is a good add to the top six and Tatar should have a better season than last.
Marino likely a significant improvement on Ty Smith who had a disastrous sophomore year.
Okhotiuk, Bahl and Walsh all looking to develop past and beat Brendan Smith out for the 3LHD spot ensures depth at D.
Mercer, Hughes, Zetterlund, Hischier, Bratt and Sharangovich with one more year of development under their belts.
Impactful performances from rookies such as Holtz is on the cards, with Nemec and Luke Hughes also coming in for a 9 game stint in April.
There's no reason to believe such bad luck will strike the Devils a second year in a row, particularly with the goaltenders.
Capitals and Penguins and Isles getting older and core players further away from their prime years, Boston having their best Forward and Defender out for a significant portion of the season, Toronto possibly getting even worse in net and Shesterkin cannot possibly carry the Rangers as hard as he did last season means that there will be more wins to be had against the perceived top teams in the conference.
None of them became better on paper compared to last season.
...and even then I'm 60% certain the Devils still end up missing the playoffs in 22-23, albeit rather narrowly.