Poor New Jersey Devils. They lose their captain Zach Parise to free agency in the summer of 2012. Almost exactly a year later their top remaining scorer Ilya Kovalchuk decides to ditch the Devils (and his $60 million contract) and return to Mother Russia. Oh, and on the teetering edge of financial ruin, the Devils were just sold for $320 million to the owners of the Philadelphia 76ers David Blitzer and Joshua Harris.
No one is feeling sorry for GM Lou Lamoreillo and his traditionally strong Devils. The former “Mickey Mouse” franchise tag given by the great Wayne Gretzky has won three Stanley Cups since 1994. Only the Detroit Red Wings have won more Stanley Cups in that time. After missing the playoffs one year after making it to the Stanley Cup Final, New Jersey could find itself on the outside looking in.
In addition to replacing Kovalchuk, the Devils bid farewell to David Clarkson who found greener pastures in Toronto via free agency. Between Clarkson (15) and Kovalchuk (11) New JErsey will need to replace approximately 23% of their goal scoring. Enter Ryane Clowe, Jaromir Jagr and Michael Ryder and the Devils have appled a band aid to a compound fracture.
Reliable contributors Patrik Elias and Travis Zajac join freshly extended Adam Henrique as the Devils’ primary offensive weapons. How well the newcomers mesh with the old guard could determine the difference between a playoff berth and a lottery draft pick.
Defensively the Devils will be stout per usual. Reliable blueliners Andy Greene, Marek Zidlicky, Anton Volchenkov and Bryce Salvador won’t put too many pucks in the net, but that isn’t what they’re paid to do. Youngster Adam Larsson has shown sme offensive talent, but he is still getting his skates underneath him.
In goal the Devils are set for the near and distant future. Acquiring Cory Schneider on a draft day trade stunned the hockey world, but secured the Devils’ goaltending for the next decade. The 26-year old Schneider will certainly split time with 41-year young Martin Brodeur this season, but he is clearly the long-term answer in net for New Jersey.
Prediction: Sixth. I don’t see the Devils getting enough scoring to make the playoffs this year. They invested a lot of dough in Clowe and Henrique while watching a lot of proven scoring walk away. See Nashville 2013.