New Jersey Devils

28-40-14, 70 pts / 180GF(28th)/241GA(t-24th)

Cap room(Per CapFriendly as of 8/6/17): $18.7 mil - 16/23 NHL contracts

Brought in/back:

• 6/23/17 Nico Hischier - 1st overall NHL Draft pick
• 7/2/17 Marcus Johansson - Trade w/ WSH
• 7/1/17 Brian Boyle - 2 yr / $5.1 mil
• 7/1/17 Brian Gibbons - 1 yr / $650k
• 7/1/17 Brian Strait - 1 yr / $650k
• 7/1/17 Bracken Kearns - 1 yr / $650k
• 6/29/17 Keith Kincaid - 2 yr / $2.5 mil
• 6/17/17 Mirco Mueller - Trade w/ SJS

Moved on:

• Jon Merrill - Expansion draft
• Mike Cammalleri - LAK, 1 yr / $1 mil
• Devante Smith-Pelly - WAS, 1 yr / $650k
• Beau Bennett - STL, 1 yr / $650k
• Jacob Josefson - BUF, 1 yr / $700k

Projected Line-Up:

Forward:

Taylor Hall - Travis Zajac - Kyle Palmieri

Adam Henrique - Nico Hischier - Marcus Johansson

John Quenneville - Pavel Zacha - Blake Speers

Miles Wood - Brian Boyle - Stefan Noesen

(Joe Blandisi - Blake Coleman - Michael McLeod)

Defense:

Andy Greene - Damon Severson (RFA)

John Moore - Ben Lovejoy

Mirco Mueller - Steven Santini

(Michael Kapla - Dalton Prout)

Goalie:

Cory Schneider

Keith Kinkaid

Dark Horse:

Forwards Michael McLeod, John Quenneville, and Blake Speers. McLeod is the 12th overall pick in last years Draft, and was tearing it up last year in the OHL. Quenneville and Speers made their way to the Devils roster last season, and with how young this team is going to be next year, there’s plenty of ice time available for them to either succeed and show signs that the future is now, or they may still be too inexperienced and there will still be more growing pains along the way.

The other Michael, Michael Kapla, is their prized NCAA signee who managed to play in 5 NHL games straight out of UMass-Lowell last year after signing a deal with New Jersey. He may earn a spot in camp or will likely be the #7 defender in New Jersey, so chances of him playing I think are high, and he would be one of the best prospects for the Penguins if he were in their farm system.

Too Early Expectations:

The Devils are probably the most improved team in the Metro. They added skill and experience up front but are still a group of young kids with big roles in a big boys league. Everyone saw the damage that Toronto did last year with Matthews & Co., and I’m not comparing Nico to him other than they were #1 picks, but maybe that’s what NJ needs to spring some life back into this franchise.

I don’t see the Devils finishing with the second fewest wins in the league again this year. They are still in desperate need of a #1 defenseman after the Hall for Larsson deal last summer. That can be said for many other NHL teams, as they don’t just grow on trees. Scoring Nico with the first overall pick gave the team something to look forward to, and as of right now, they haven’t lost a game this year. If Cory Schneider can regain his elite status, the Devils could surprise a lot of teams around the NHL next season.

Keep up with the rest of the Division:

• Penguins
• Capitals
• Blue Jackets
• Rangers
• Islanders
• Flyers
• Hurricanes