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New Jersey Devils: 2019 season preview, predictions

By Dave Stevenson

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - SEPTEMBER 16: Jack Hughes #86 of the New Jersey Devils celebrates his first goal of preseason on the powerplay at 12:05 of the second period against the Boston Bruins at the Prudential Center on September 16, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - SEPTEMBER 16: Jack Hughes #86 of the New Jersey Devils celebrates his first goal of preseason on the powerplay at 12:05 of the second period against the Boston Bruins at the Prudential Center on September 16, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images /

Strengths

Center Depth

For the first time in a while, the Devils have solid center depth. It all starts at the top, where they have two first overall picks in Hischier and Hughes. The former has emerged as one of the NHL’s best two-way centers. As a 20-year-old, Hischier held his own against elite competition. His best years are ahead of him.

Having Hischier should make things easier for Hughes. As great as Hughes is on offense, his defense has always been a bit of a question mark. With Hischier around, he should be able to take advantage of lesser competition at home. Hughes is the overwhelming favorite to win the Calder Trophy. In the bottom six, Travis Zajac and Pavel Zacha provide decent depth.

Left Wing

The Devils’ left side is led by Taylor Hall and Nikita Gusev. Both are question marks, albeit for entirely different reasons. Hall’s going into a contract year, so that could be a distraction. Also, how will he bounce back from his injuries from last season? Is Hall going to be his Hart Trophy-winning self? Or something less? Even if it’s the latter, Hall’s one of the best left wings in the NHL.

Gusev is a bit more of a question mark, mostly because he has literally never played in the NHL. His dominance of the KHL is quite encouraging and it bodes well for his chances of making it in the best league in the world. Gusev’s NHLe, which projects how well he will do based on how he did in the KHL, is a shade over 80 points. Even 60 to 70 would be huge.

But of course, this doesn’t guarantee success. For every Artemi Panarin, there’s somebody like Vadim Shipachyov. Gusev is extremely skilled, but he’s a question mark because there’s no way to tell how well he’s going to adjust to North America

I don’t know where Blake Coleman will play, but if it’s on the left side, the Devils could have three legitimate left wings on their NHL roster. That’s a huge step up from what they were trotting out last season.

The Right Side

Trading for Subban changes the entire outlook of the Devils defense. It kicks Damon Severson into a far more reasonable and appropriate second pairing role. I’m optimistic that he’ll thrive in this role. Subban’s a slight question mark because of his down-year in 2018-19, but I believe it had more to do with injuries than any decline. If Subban bounces back, the Devils defense could be better than a lot of people think.

Penalty Kill

The Devils penalty kill was a bright spot for them last season. They killed 84.32% of their penalties, which is well above the league average. If this carries over to the 2019-20 season, the Devils have a decent shot of making the postseason.

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