New Jersey Devils Season Preview: Keys to Playoff Contention
By Ryan Ritchie
New Jersey Devils Season Preview: Exploring Key Factors To Secure a Playoff Spot in 2016-17
New Jersey Devils Season Preview – There’s reason for optimism if you’re a Devils fan. This team was in the playoff hunt in 2015-16 before losing starter Cory Schneider to a long-term injury. Keith Kinkaid played well in his absence, but it’s impossible to replace elite talent (case in point: Montreal).
Fans got a sneak peek at a few top prospects towards the end of the year that should have an impact in 2016-17. The Devils also welcome star left winger Taylor Hall, who was traded for D Adam Larsson, and numerous other free agent signings.
When you look at this team on paper, there’s no question they have the talent to be a playoff contender. So perhaps the most important factor moving forward will be keeping key players healthy.
Let’s take a look at some other major factors that could help propel the New Jersey Devils into the Stanley Cup Playoffs:
New Jersey Devils Season Preview: Keys to Playoff Contention
Cory Schneider
Injuries have plagued Schneider in two of his first three seasons with NJ. Still, he’s managed to produce outstanding numbers that rank among the best in the NHL.
In 2013-14, Cory went 16-15-12 with a 1.97GAA and .921 save percentage with three shutouts. A year later (2014-15), Schneider went 26-31-9 with a 2.26GAA and .925 save percentage, and five shutouts – incredible for a losing record. This past season (2015-16), he went 27-25-6 with a 2.15GAA and .925 save percentage, and four shutouts.
If the New Jersey Devils can get another 65-plus game season (similar to his 69 in 2014-15) from Schneider, we could be looking at the first NJD netminder to win the Vezina Trophy since the legend Martin Brodeur.
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Prospect Pool
At the bare minimum, fans can expect C Pavel Zacha and D Steve Santini to step up and provide a major impact as rookies.
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There’s always a possibility that other prospects such as Miles Wood or John Quenneville could surprise in training camp to earn a spot, but they’re certainly not expected to emerge so soon.
Zacha could easily find his name in Calder Trophy conversations depending how the depth chart shakes up.
Don’t be surprised if Santini eventually slots in second behind Damon Severson on the depth chart surpassing Ben Lovejoy. He was impressive for Team USA at the World Hockey Championships.
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Defense
With Adam Larsson‘s departure, Damon Severson naturally slots in as the number one defenseman on the right side. A player largely unknown to the rest of the hockey world, Severson should have no problem stepping into a larger role with the additional minutes.
New Jersey could have a top four group that looks something like this on opening night:
Andy Greene – Damon Severson
John Moore – Ben Lovejoy
Jon Merrill – Steve Santini
Yohann Auvitu
There’s still the possibility of unexpected prospects emerging in training camp, such as Reece Scarlett, Vojtech Mozik, or Seth Helgeson.
Overall, this is a largely underrated defensive group that has the potential to turn heads quickly.
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New Additions
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Along with the addition of D Ben Lovejoy, New Jersey Devils managed to acquire LW Taylor Hall. They also signed unrestricted free agents Vernon Fiddler and Beau Bennett.
Give GM Ray Shero credit, everyone knew what Edmonton needed, and the Devils General Manager made Peter Chiarelli pay a hefty price. Sure, NJ lost a stud defender, but they obtained a top five left winger. Taylor Hall can fill that vacancy that was left by Zach Parise when he left in 2012.
The Devils found themselves depending too much on younger players in 2015-16. FA additions Vernon Fiddler and Beau Bennett should help fill some of those holes in the bottom six with scoring depth.
Offensive Scoring Depth
There’s no question that New Jersey should manage to find the back of the net more often in 2016-17.
In just a few short months, they went from a team that was struggling to put together a top six forward group, to a club that is legitimately three lines deep.
A lot may hinge on how a few secondary players perform. For example, Devante Smith-Pelly earned a two-year total $2.6 million dollar contract after posting 13 points in 18 games following his deadline acquisition from Montreal.
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Another key figure could be 22-year-old Joseph Blandisi. Most in the hockey world received a bad first impression after the former Barrie Colts forward was caught embellishing a pair of times in embarrassing fashion.
Blandisi forced the Devils hand after finishing his final year of junior (2014-15) with 112 points, and following it up with 23 points in 27 games to start the season with AHL Albany in 2015-16. Look for him to learn from his rookie season and build upon re-branding his image to that quality secondary scorer we know he can be.