Team: 2023-24 New Jersey Devils

Initial Creation Date: Oct. 14, 2023

Published: Oct. 14, 2023

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Devils had a great 2022-23 season that have set expectations very high for 2023-24. But I have always been saying we shouldn’t expect another 110+ point season as losing Graves and Severson leaves a bigger hole on our blueline than people realize. Luke Hughes should be able to match their offense, if not improve upon it, but hard to expect a rookie to play as well in all three zones for full season.

1. The possible hole to fill -- So far this year (through only preseason and 2 regular games), it appears we may have one hole to fill in our starting-six. Luke looks great. But Miller didn’t fit well into our system in his pre-season appearances. Smith, while a good veteran to be 7th or 8th dman, is a little slow and compensates by taking poor penalties. We probably give Miller another chance in near-term, but if we had to go out an add a rental dman, I wonder what they market looks like.

2. What we may need -- Ideally would be veteran rental, at around $2.5m or less (net) and wouldn’t cost us anything off our roster (or prospects Nemec, Gritsyuk, Leeni, Seamus). Any picks or other prospects are fine. Stylistically, we’d probably want a player that defends adequately and can cleanly exit d-zone (someone who can reliably get the puck onto stick of our transition players in neutral zone). L/R doesn’t matter as much as Luke plays both sides.

3. Input requested -- What are thoughts about these guys? Who fits our system? Are they available and if so, at what cost? Who else is likely available? Who else is out there that might fit and may be worth looking at?

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