[ad_1]
The NHL offseason itself is less than two weeks old, but New Jersey Devils It had been a long time since the team last played. After the team’s disappointing 2023-24 season, exit interviews and subsequent news reports indicated that the team would make some changes. Things hit a low point for a while, as teams that didn’t make the playoffs usually do, but as May was coming to an end, the team hired Sheldon Keefe as a new coach. Then, with the Stanley Cup Finals approaching, the team finally changed its goalie, bringing in Jacob Markstrom.
However, it was only after the draft that we really saw Tom Fitzgerald trying to reshape the team.
After sending Kevin Barr away in the Markstrom trade, Fitzgerald continued to revamp the defense, sending John Marino to Utah. He then sent Akira Schmid and Alex Holtz to Las Vegas in exchange for Paul Cote. In the brief gap between the draft and free agency, Jonathan Kovacevic would be brought in to bolster the blue line. After free agency opened, the Devils quickly brought in Brett Pace and Brenden Dillon, while also bringing back old friend Stefan Nosen. The next day, another former Devils player would return, with Tomas Tatar signing a one-year contract.
With these trades, the list of Devils players still on the roster at the end of last season grows longer. In addition to Barr, Marino, Holtz, and Schmid, Brendan Smith, Tomas Nosek, and Kaapo Kahkonen will all find new clubs via unrestricted free agency. And let’s not forget the players who were traded before the season ended: Vitek Vanecek, Colin Miller, and Tyler Toffoli all played big games for the Devils last season, and they won’t be returning to New Jersey.
As the caption says, the core is still here: Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, and Timo Meier will hopefully use this time to rest and get ready. Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec should perform better with experience from their rookie seasons. Don’t forget the supporting cast that will also be returning: Dougie Hamilton and Nolan Foote are both expected to be healthy this season. Jonas Siegenthaler, Erik Haula, and Dawson Mercer will all have a chance to bounce back from subpar seasons. Curtis Lazar will continue to bring energy and effort, and Ondrej Palat will bring… veteran leadership, I guess. Oh, and Kurtis MacDermid is here, too.
As you can see/read, there are a lot of familiar faces, but the Devils will still look a lot different this season, and in some ways, this could be a make-or-break year for the team. Now this isn’t to say that if things don’t go right, the Devils will gut the whole thing and start another rebuild. However, more changes could be made if the team isn’t trending in the right direction. That said, if the Devils struggle or perform worse than they did last season and miss the playoffs again, maybe the goodwill that Tom Fitzgerald has earned will start to wear off and maybe the team’s ownership will re-evaluate his status. If the Devils outperform the guys still on the roster, maybe they’ll regret trading some of the guys they did in the offseason.
But on the other hand, maybe these are the moves needed to get the team back into form. Maybe when the Devils become a team that can not only outpace opponents but out-muscle them physically, Tom Fitzgerald will finally look like the genius that he was. Maybe defense and goaltending will return to being strengths of the team. This group of guys on the Devils still has high scoring potential, and if they can maximize their overall talent, then maybe this group can go further than the team has in years. If things continue to go right, maybe this summer’s moves will not only get the Devils one year of success, but another long run of success.
Obviously, now we have to play games to determine if the Devils are getting better, worse or staying largely the same. However, no matter how you look at it, this isn’t the Devils roster from last year or past few seasons. As we said, only time will tell if this is good or bad.
What are your thoughts on the Devils heading into this season? Do you think the team as a whole will perform better or worse? Is there anything in particular you are looking forward to or not looking forward to from them? Please leave any comments below, and as always, thanks for reading!
[ad_2]
Source link
