The New Jersey Devils: a Sleeping Giant?
After a long summer, training camps finally opened up this week to the delight of hockey fans around the world. While everyone is focused on the Bruins, Penguins, and Lightning as favorites in the East, there is a sleeper lurking over at the Rock this year.
The New Jersey Devils are positioned to put the disappointment of two straight playoff-less seasons behind them this year and regain its footing among the Eastern elites, a spot it was all too familiar with for nearly two decades.
It’s no surprise many of the “experts” have the Devils missing the playoffs. They don’t have the offensive fire-power of the Penguins. They lack the look of a well-oiled machine like the Bruins. They play in a market dominated by an organization that carries itself like the Yankees except it has the history of the Cubs (sorry Ranger fans, it’s true).
But if you haven’t heard yet, let me be the first to tell you: the Devils will be a force in the Eastern Conference this year.
Am I crazy? Perhaps. But let’s start with the basics: they finished with 88 points last season, sixth in the Metropolitan Division and five points out of the final playoff spot. They finished 0 and 13 in the shoot out, the only team in the league to go winless in the skills competition (every other team had at least two shootout victories). They only let up 208 goals, which was ninth best in the league last year. Conversely they only scored 197 goals, finishing better than only three other teams. They sported the ninth best power play in the league and coupled it with the best penalty kill, coming in at 86.4% success rate last season.
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So how did they improve?
For starters, they went out and signed free-agent Mike Cammalleri to a five-year contract. The 32-year old winger scored 26 goals last season in 63 games playing for a Calgary Flames team that finished 13th in the Western Conference. Despite missing 19 games Cammalleri led the Flames in goal-scoring. Cammalleri will immediately slide into a top-six forward role with the Devils and bring some much needed punch to an offense that only had one 25-goal scorer last year (Adam Henrique). It also brought back the ageless Jaromir Jagr who led the team with 67 points last season. The only shock about Jagr still producing 24 years after being drafted is that people are still surprised by it. The man recently said he wants to play until he’s 50. Would anyone be surprised if he actually did?
The defense should also be improved with the subtraction of Anton Volchenkov and what should be increased playing time for youngsters Jon Merrill and Eric Gelinas. Volchenkov had too many moments where he preferred delivering a big hit over the safe, reliable play. Devil fans are anything but upset over his departure. Merrill played in 52 games last season as a rookie with the Devils. However, he suffered a head/facial injury last year in his debut and his training camp this season has gotten off to an ominous start as he collided with Ruslan Fedotenko and has missed practice time since then. As for Gelinas, the offensive-minded defenseman ended his holdout before camp started this week and should be counted on to put up 40 or more points this year from the blue line.
But the biggest improvement comes in net where Cory Schneider will finally have the number one job from camp. After years playing with Roberto Luongo in Vancouver and last season splitting time with Martin Broduer, Schneider brings a .925 career save percentage to a team that was loyal to Brodeur to a fault last season, costing them a playoff spot in the process. Despite having the superior numbers by far last season, Schneider only started 43 games. Assuming he’s healthy, expect Schneider to get roughly 65 starts this season. Those extra 22 starts will be the difference between being outside the playoff bubble and contending for the division.
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The other factor in the Devils’ chances of emerging as a threat this season? The Eastern Conference is wide-open. Want proof?
- Bruins: salary-cap concerns have left them depth paper-thin. There are rumors they’ll move one of their veteran contributors (Johnny Boychuk) in an effort to sign key youngsters Torey Krug and Reilly Smith. The Bruins are already over the cap, so it’s either move a useful player, or lose two. Plus future Hall-of-Famer Zdeno Chara appeared to lose a step late in the season and playoffs last season. The 37-year old defenseman has played over 1200 games in his career when you include playoffs. If Big Z isn’t at his all-star level, this team takes a huge step back.
- Rangers: yes, they had an impressive run to the Stanley Cup Finals last year before losing to the Kings in five. However, this was the same team that was forced to go to a game seven against the Flyers and were down 3-1 to the Penguins before pulling off the improbable comeback. They added Dan Boyle to their blue line, but were priced out of Anton Stralman who emerged as a top-four defensemen last season. They lost checking center Brian Boyle and revelation Benoit Pouliot in free agency and replaced them with the likes of Lee Stempniak, Ryan Malone, Tanner Glass, and Matt Lombardi. Whether they are better is debatable. However as long as they have Henrik Lundqvist between the pipes, they’ll be a threat. But will they have enough offense to escape the East?
- Penguins: yes, they have two of the top five players in the world in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. But the team has disappointed in the playoffs in recent years, led by goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. Their collapse against the Rangers last spring led to a changing of coaches with Mike Johnston replacing Dan Bylsma. They added Christian Ehroff on defense but lost Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen to Washington. Would it shock anyone to see them have another big regular season followed by a playoff thumping?
Sure, the Lightning, Blue Jackets, Canadiens, and Capitals will also have plenty to say about the New Jersey Devils success this year. But this Devils team is built for playoff success with their ability to possess the puck and play stingy defense. They appear to have finally added enough offensive pieces up front for the first time since losing Zach Parise two summer ago in Cammalleri and taking a flyer on Martin Havlat. Barring injuries, I can’t see how this team misses the playoffs again this year. There is too much talent for it to occur (but if it does, say goodbye to coach Pete DoBoer.
It’s a long season and teams will emerge out of nowhere to become legitimate title contenders. But if you’re looking for a team that will surprise some, although it shouldn’t, look no further than the New Jersey Devils who won’t only be back in the playoffs, but will do so by winning the Metropolitan Division and sending notice to the league they are back. You’ve been warned.