2024–25 NHL team preview: New Jersey Devils

Credit: Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

LAST SEASON

Heading into the 2023-24 season, many fans expected the New Jersey Devils to compete for one of the top spots in the Metropolitan Division. After all, they’d finished with 112 points the previous season and toppled the New York Rangers in the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs; on top of that, with Timo Meier and Tyler Toffoli newly in the fold, they looked like a team on the rise.

Instead, the Devils wound up finishing a stunning seventh in the Metro in 2023-24, due in large part to star defenseman Dougie Hamilton missing most of the year with a torn pectoral muscle, as well as their goaltending woes. What looked like one of the league’s strongest teams on paper ended up barely cracking 80 points despite posting playoff-caliber underlying numbers in most categories, and they sold the likes of Toffoli and Colin Miller for draft picks at the trade deadline.

New Jersey still has one of the best young cores in the league, headlined by Jack and Luke Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Dawson Mercer, and Simon Nemec. They also made significant moves this offseason to address the issues that prevented them from reaching the playoffs this past spring. In a division that featured the two weakest teams to qualify for the postseason in 2023-24, the Devils should be more than capable of returning to prominence as soon as this year.

The key word: “should.”

KEY ADDITIONS & DEPARTURES

Additions

Jacob Markstrom, G
Brett Pesce, D
Brenden Dillon, D
Stefan Noesen, RW
Tomas Tatar, LW
Paul Cotter, C
Jonathan Kovacevic, D
Adam Beckman, LW

Departures

John Marino, D (UTA)
Kevin Bahl, D (CGY)
Alexander Holtz, RW (VGK)
Brendan Smith, D (DAL)
Tomas Nosek, LW (FLA)
Akira Schmid, G (VGK)
Chris Tierney, C (UFA)
Graeme Clarke, RW (MIN)

OFFENSE

Any group of forwards that features a player like Jack Hughes has to be taken seriously. The 2019 No. 1 overall pick has emerged as a full-fledged superstar center over the last three seasons, topping out with 43 goals and 99 points in 78 games with the playoff-bound Devils in the 2022-23 campaign. The 5’11” pivot looked just as good in the playoffs, too, racking up six goals and 11 points in 12 contests.

If Hughes has one major weakness, it’s his lack of durability. The Orlando, Florida product has missed significant time due to injuries in three of his five NHL seasons to date, most recently sitting out of 20 games last year while dealing with shoulder issues. Hughes is an enormously talented player, but it’ll be difficult for the Devils to compete on a yearly basis if he’s only able to take part in three-quarters of each season.

Fortunately, the Devils are blessed with not one but two No. 1 overall picks at the center position. Nico Hischier may not be quite as dynamic as Hughes, but he’s a terrific two-way player in his own right with an 80-point season under his belt. Between Hischier and Timo Meier, we project the Devils to have a 6’1″ Swiss forward on both of their top two forward lines once again this season.

Meier finally appeared to settle in with the Devils down the stretch last year after struggling to produce in his debut go-round with the club in 2022-23 and to start 2023-24. The 27-year-old winger finished his first full campaign in red, black, and white with 28 goals and 52 points in 69 games, putting him right in line with some of his stronger years as a member of the San Jose Sharks. Of course, the Devils naturally hope Meier can return to his 40-goal form over a full 82 games of work in the 2024-25 campaign.

Finally, we have to mention Jesper Bratt, who did play a full 82 games in 2023-24 and was arguably the only member of the Devils’ forward group to live up to his true potential. The 2016 sixth-round pick led the entire team with 83 points (27 goals, 56 assists) last season, besting his previous career high by 10, and managed a terrific 56.56 on-ice expected goals percentage at 5-on-5. Bratt may be an undersized winger, but he’s one of the primary engines of this Devils offense and should be regarded as such.

DEFENSE

When Dougie Hamilton is healthy, the Devils have one of the better defensive groups in the league. Unfortunately, for the vast majority of last season, Hamilton was not healthy, and the Devils struggled to keep pucks out of their net for long stretches of time. C’est la vie.

The 31-year-old Hamilton functions as the ideal mentor for the young Luke Hughes, who, at just 21 years of age, has already found his way onto an EA NHL cover (albeit just as one of the three Hughes brothers). Hughes earned legit Calder Trophy consideration last season after posting nine goals and 47 points in 82 games, and if the Devils had actually made the playoffs, he probably would’ve received far more buzz. As it was, it would’ve taken a lot to overcome the two-headed monster of Connor Bedard and Brock Faber.

Still, through no fault of his own, Hughes will likely top out as a No. 2 in New Jersey for the foreseeable future if Hamilton is able to return to his peak level of performance. The former Boston Bruin, Calgary Flame, and Carolina Hurricane blew his previous career highs out of the water in 2022-23 when he finished third on the Devils in scoring with 22 goals and 74 points in 82 games. The 6’6″ Hamilton is signed through 2028 at a $9 million cap hit and is one of the strongest offensive defensemen in the league, even if his playoff performances to date have left a little to be desired.

Recognizing how thin their defensive group became once Hamilton went down early last season, the Devils sought to strengthen the position with a pair of major additions in unrestricted free agency this past July. Entering the fold: Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon, a pair of veteran shutdown options with a ton of playoff experience. Don’t be surprised if they’re both tasked with mentoring the younger Hughes and 2022 No. 2 pick Simon Nemec throughout the coming season.

GOALTENDING

The Devils entered the 2023-24 season hoping that a tandem of Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid would be able to get them back to the playoffs. It didn’t work, and both those guys are now gone.

Throughout last season, the Devils engaged with multiple teams in a bid to strengthen their goaltending. Their top target for much of the year was Calgary Flames netminder Jacob Markstrom, who very nearly became a Devil ahead of the 2024 trade deadline. However, when those plans fell through, the Devils turned elsewhere and ultimately acquired Jake Allen from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for a conditional 2025 third-round pick.

Allen, who just turned 34 in August, hasn’t been a legit starting goalie in this league for some time. He did his best down the stretch but was unable to drastically improve his new team’s fortunes. As such, the Devils re-engaged with the Flames in Markstrom trade talks back in June and swung a deal ahead of the 2024 NHL Draft, sending defenseman Kevin Bahl and a 2025 first-round pick Calgary’s way in exchange for the 34-year-old Swede.

Markstrom is a towering goaltender with a solid, albeit inconsistent, track record. He managed a 23-23-2 record and a .905 save percentage in 48 games last year behind a Flames team that ended up trading three of its regular defenders. Now, he’ll get the chance to play for a Devils team with a flat-out stacked defensive group. With two years left on his current deal, Markstrom should be plenty motivated to play his best hockey in New Jersey.

COACHING

The Devils tried a lot of different things as they tried to right the ship last season. Naturally, they eventually went with the old favorite of firing the coach. After relieving Lindy Ruff of his duties behind the bench in early March, the Devils went with former Vancouver Canucks head coach Travis Green for the rest of the season. (The Devils went 8-12-1 under Green and missed the playoffs).

Green never made much sense as the long-term solution in New Jersey, and he ultimately left to take the head coaching job with the Ottawa Senators in the offseason. Sheldon Keefe, on the other hand, made plenty of sense for the Devils. He coached plenty of talented forwards during his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but he never had the type of defensive group that he now does in New Jersey. It didn’t surprise anyone to see Keefe land with the Devils just two weeks after the Leafs relieved him of his coaching duties. It’s a great fit for everyone involved.

ROOKIES

After skating in 60 NHL games with the Devils last season, defenseman Simon Nemec no longer qualifies as a rookie. We’d say the same about Alexander Holtz, except he was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights back in June. For the most part, the Devils’ younger players have all either established themselves already (Dawson Mercer, Nemec, the Hugheses) or have been traded away (Holtz, Kevin Bahl, Akira Schmid).

However, it very much is worth mentioning defenseman Seamus Casey, who signed his entry-level deal with the Devils back in May after wrapping up a stellar sophomore year at the University of Michigan. Despite standing just 5’10”, the right-handed Casey racked up seven goals and 45 points in 40 games during his second season with the Wolverines and was recognized as an NCAA West All-American. It’ll be tough for Casey to crack a Devils defensive group that now includes Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon, but he’s skilled enough to turn heads if he does get a shot.

BURNING QUESTIONS

1. When will Dawson Mercer sign? The Devils’ lone remaining RFA is a good one. Mercer, the No. 18 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, has yet to miss a single game since making the Devils out of camp to start the 2021-22 season. The Carbonear, Newfoundland product collected 27 goals and 56 points with the club in 2022-23 and still managed to reach the 20-goal mark again in trying circumstances last year. The Devils need what Mercer brings, but he remains unsigned with less than a month left until the start of the regular season. Could a bridge deal be on the horizon?

2. Will Ondrej Palat bounce back? The veteran Palat has yet to find his niche in the Garden State after reaching the Stanley Cup Final in three consecutive seasons to conclude his tenure with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Palat skated in just 49 games during his first season in New Jersey and followed that up with 11 goals and 31 points in 71 games last year. Now 33, Palat still has three years left on his $6 million AAV contract. He’s being paid like a top-six forward. The Devils need him to play like one.

3. Will Jake Allen be traded? After their Markstrom trade talks with the Flames broke down last spring, the Devils turned to Allen as their solution in goal for the rest of the 2023-24 season. As one might expect, Allen was just okay in his first 13 games with his new team, going 6-6-1 with a .900 save percentage. But now, with Markstrom finally a Devil for real, Allen’s status is far less certain. The 34-year-old goaltender is a pending UFA who probably won’t remain in New Jersey unless he takes a major pay cut. The Canadiens currently pay half of Allen’s $3.85 million cap hit, but that arrangement ends next summer. With Nico Daws also still around, Allen might end up being a bit redundant.

PREDICTION

The New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes finished first and second in the Metropolitan Division in 2023-24. After that, the New York Islanders and Washington Capitals claimed the division’s third and fourth playoff spots. With all due respect to those two teams, the Devils (at their best) have them beat across the board. With a new coach, a major upgrade in goal, a healthy No. 1 defender, and one of the best groups of centers in the league, the Devils should be a shoo-in to make the playoffs in a divisional spot this year. But let’s go one step further and say this: New Jersey will win the Metro in the 2024-25 regular season.

Advanced stats courtesy of Natural Stat Trick and MoneyPuck

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