2020 Devils Offseason
A group for all 2020 Devils offseason posts
Division Differences for the Devils: Do the New Teams Make a Difference?
This season, the New Jersey Devils will be playing zero games against typical division foes Carolina and Columbus but will have 16 total against Boston and Buffalo. Do recent head-to-head records tell us that this is good or bad for NJ?
A Quick Glance at the Other Seven Teams
While the Devils made some significant changes to their roster this past offseason, other teams in their division had even more massive movement. Today, we’ll be looking at the other seven teams in the division, and what to expect their rosters to look like in the following campaign.
Winners and Losers from Division Realignment
While not specifically a Devils-centric post, today I look at some winners and losers in each division with the new realignment for this year. Hint: The Devils are not winners.
How the Devils Can Make the Best Use of the Taxi Squad
There might be an urge to use the taxi squad to keep young players close to the NHL. That might not be a good idea once the AHL season starts.
Moves the Devils Can Make as the Season Looms
There are still some teams over the cap, and free agents yet to be signed. What makes sense for the Devils?
Power Ranking the Devils Defense - Who Makes the Team
The Devils defense saw some massive changes in this past offseason, so today we’ll power rank every member of the Devils organization and their likelihood of playing next season
Hockey Is Back: What That Means for the New Jersey Devils
After months of uncertainty, the NHL finally looks like it’s moving toward a specific start date.
What Would Be Considered “Success” This Year?
With the Top 25 Under 25 done, you can see that many of the players in the top 10 are on the NHL roster, or will be soon. That leads to a question: if they are playing in New Jersey, what outcomes for the team would be considered success?
NHL Restart Outlook
Will we have an NHL season in 2021? The latest updates on where we stand with negotiations for another season of bubble hockey and what that might look like.
The Most Important Improvement of Them All
Across the last two Saturdays, I have discussed players coming off their rookie NHL seasons who, with improvement, will really help to benefit the Devils this season. While improvement from Boqvist and Gusev will be important, the most important in this group will undoubtedly be Jack Hughes.
A Jump Forward for Gusev
Last week, I discussed how growth from a year two player in Jesper Boqvist could be very important for the New Jersey Devils. Another year two player with potential for growth is Nikita Gusev.
Improvement From Boqvist Will Be Important
Stanley Cup teams are populated, up and down the lineup, with quality talent. It is not all about the stars. For the Devils, a guy like Boqvist will be a vital cog in creating a competitive lineup. He needs to keep improving.
The Quest for a New Captain
With Andy Greene being in New York, the Devils will need a new captain whenever the next season begins. Let’s take a look at the options.
New Jersey Devils Players With a Lot to Prove in 2021
The Devils are in the process of rebuilding, and may move some players if they seem like they will be outplayed by prospects.
New Jersey Devils Hire Two More Coaches: Chris Taylor and Dave Rogalski
This morning, the New Jersey Devils announced that they hired Chris Taylor as an assistant coach and Dave Rogalski as a goaltending coach. This post goes over what Taylor and Rogalski did before being hired and notes that this likely completes Lindy Ruff’s coaching staff.
Evaluating the Devils’ Internal Options to Fill Spots at Forward
With multiple empty roster spots, the Devils will have a lot of players on the roster in 2021 who mostly played in Binghamton last season.
New Jersey Devils Sign Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov for One Season, $1.15 Million
Earlier today, the New Jersey Devils signed left-handed veteran defenseman Dmitry Kulikov to a $1.15 million contract for one season. This post reacts to the deal, goes in depth about how Kulikov played for Winnipeg last season, and offers thoughts about the signing.
New Jersey Devils Re-sign Nick Merkley to One Season, Two-Way Contract
This evening, CapFriendly broke the news that the New Jersey Devils re-signed forward Nick Merkley to a two-way contract for the 2020-21 season. This post is a reaction to the news and touches on how there is hope he can make the New Jersey roster in 2020-21.
Fitzgerald is Playing the Right Game for the Devils
As the official new GM, Fitzgerald had a lot of options about how he wanted to attack the draft and free agency. From what I have seen, regardless of what you feel about the players he drafted or signed, he has gone about it the right way so far.
Lining Up the Devils Defense
With so many changes on New Jersey’s blueline this season, what will our defensive pairings look like? Who can we expect to make the regular season roster?
Report: New Jersey Devils Signed Scott Wedgewood to One Season, Two-Way Contract
Goaltender Scott Wedgewood started his career in the New Jersey Devils system and he is back. As per John Matisz, Wedgewood reportedly signed a one-season, two-way contract with the Devils. This post is a quick reaction to the news and gives an overview of Wedgewood’s career so far.
Question Marks in the Devils’ Forwards Group
While the New Jersey Devils have great young forwards in Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, and Jesper Bratt, they currently have very little security up front if anyone gets injured or traded.
New Jersey Devils Trade Joey Anderson to Toronto for Andreas Johnsson
This evening, the New Jersey Devils traded prospect right winger Joey Anderson to the Toronto Maple Leafs for left winger Andreas Johnsson. This post is a reaction to the trade, explains how Johnsson was used in Toronto and how useful he can be, and why it is a good deal for the Devils.
New Jersey Devils Sign Corey Crawford to Two Season Deal Worth $7.8 Million
The New Jersey Devils made one of the last signings of the first day of the NHL’s free agent period by signing former Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford. They needed a goaltender and they got one. This post is a quick reaction to the deal and why it is a good signing.
What You Thought: You Liked a Lot of the New Jersey Devils’ Picks at the 2020 NHL Draft
The New Jersey Devils made eight picks in Tom Fitzgerald’s first draft as general manager earlier this week. Absent any activity on the first day of free agency, this post looks at the results of the flash polls of the reader’s reaction to each of those picks. Most of you mostly like who the Devils picked.
The 2020 Free Agency Frenzy Open Post for the New Jersey Devils
It is later than usual, but this is the annual open post for readers to discuss everything that will happen as the NHL’s free agency period begins at noon today. The Devils have over $25 million in cap space and plenty of room for improvement. What will they do today? What will others do? Readers can react to all of the activity in this post.
New Jersey Devils Trade 2021 Fifth Round Pick to Columbus for Ryan Murray
On the night before free agency begins in the NHL, the New Jersey Devils made a trade to address a need on the left side of their blueline. They sent a fifth round pick in 2021 to Columbus for Ryan Murray. This post is a reaction to the deal with some quick analysis about Murray and whether this was a good deal for the Devils.