The New Jersey Devils may be the best dark horse candidate for the 22/23 season. Will they realize their potential this season?
2021-2022 Season Performance
Regular Season
The Devils got off to a strong start last season. Unfortunately, injuries derailed the train seemingly before it left the station. Jack Hughes and Dougie Hamilton both missed time early in the season and injuries to Jonathan Bernier and MacKenzie Blackwood resulted in a carousel in net for much of the season. The Devils put together some respectable 5v5 metrics regardless, where they had a positive expected goal differential and finishing. Their downfall was in net, where the rotating cast struggled all season, cratering their chances on many nights.
Looking Ahead to 2022-2023
Offseason Moves
The Devils clearly realized the need to improve their fortunes in goal and acquired the RFA rights to Vitek Vanecek before signing him to a 3 year deal. Vanecek’s projection for the upcoming season is a capable starting goaltender. He may start the season as backup to Blackwood but, if he can perform near the projection, he could push Blackwood for the starter’s role.
The Devils dipped into the free agent market to bolster their roster this summer. Ondrej Palat and Brendan Smith will both be in Devils’ threads this season after inking UFA deals. Both bring strong projected impacts, yet it may be the trade market that brought the Devils their most impactful addition outside the crease. John Marino joins the Devils after a trade that saw Ty Smith head the other way.Marino’s projected impact is a top pair defenseman. His strong defensive impact gives the Devils another option to slot into their top 4.
22/23 Roster
The Devils look like a good team as the 22/23 approaches. A couple of elite defensemen lead a strong defense corps and the forward group is deep with plenty of young developing talent included. The offense looks like a strength, while team defense is just above average. All together, the Devils look above average and ready to compete for a playoff position.
Metropolitan Division Landscape
The Metropolitan Division is a logjam in the early season projections and the Devils sit at the top of it alongside the Hurricanes. There could be plenty of challengers, but the Devils have a leg up on making their way back to the postseason.
Long Term Outlook
The Devils rebuild looks like a success at this stage. They have mostly younger players that are either developing or in their prime under longer term contracts. Their spending efficiency is good in the short term and should allow plenty of flexibility to continue building the roster over the next few seasons.
Want to check out more projections for the 22/23 season? Sign up for an annual membership to get access to all 22/23 team and player projection plots and peruse the full set of free agent player cards. Plots will be updated through the offseason as the 22/23 rosters take shape and updated to track progress through the season.
Historical player data from Natural Stat Trick. Contract data from CapFriendly.
