New Jersey Devils season preview
After making a ton of noise in the 2022-23 season, the New Jersey Devils were one of the most talked about teams this past summer, and they enter the 2023-24 campaign with very high aspirations. If there was a winner of the offseason, it would be the Devils considering they re-signed Timo Meier, and added Tyler Toffoli. The Devils are going to be a very fun team to watch.
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Offense
New Jersey has such a dynamic offensive team and to make matters worse for their opponents, they should be even better this season. Jack Hughes emerged as an NHL superstar last season, skating to a new career-high 99 points, while Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, and now Meier along with Toffoli help form a very strong top-six group of forwards. The Devils had the fifth-best goals per game (3.52) and the league’s second-best expected goals percentage (56.30). This team is incredibly deep offensively.
Defense
New Jersey’s blue line lost a couple of important players like Damon Severson and Ryan Graves, but their departures shouldn’t impact the group in such a drastic way. The Devils finished as a top-10 defensive group in 2022-23, only allowing 2.71 goals against per game while having the fourth-best penalty kill (82.6%) and also the best team at limiting high-danger chances against per 60 (10.92). Their defensive success was no fluke, and I expect them to defend well in their own end again this season.
Goaltending
Goaltending is far and away the biggest concern for this team. They’re running it back with Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid, which is the way they finished the season last year. Vanecek had a strong regular season but fell off a bit during the playoffs, which was the total opposite for Schmid. The playoffs were the moment when Schmid arrived, as he boasted a .921 save percentage and 2.35 goals against average on eight starts. These two will be battling for the starting job. There is no guarantee who will get it, but the Devils certainly need to figure out their goaltending situation if they want to make a deep run.
Player To Watch – F Tyler Toffoli
The 31-year-old set new career highs last season (34 G, 39 A for 73 P) on a Calgary Flames team that had some struggles. Per The Daily Faceoff, Toffoli is slotted on the first line with Hughes and Bratt, meaning that he shouldn’t have any problems putting up points. I don’t think it’s crazy to say that Toffoli can possibly hit 90 points if he’s on a line with those two. He is a phenomenal off-season pick-up for the Devils and has the chance to be a difference-maker immediately.
Outlook
Taking the Devils to win the Metropolitan Division at +240 seems like a popular play. This team will definitely make the playoffs and they can certainly come away with the division title. The only concern for me with the Devils is how they handle the pressure. They were very successful in 2022-23, but they were playing with house money. Now, they have a target on their backs, and it will be interesting to see how they deal with it. I don’t think this is their year to win a Stanley Cup, but they are a great team with a bright future.
