Report: New Jersey Devils Set to Play Seven Preseason Games in 2023

James Nichols of The Fourth Period and New Jersey Hockey Now has become a beat reporter covering the New Jersey Devils. He provided some news earlier this afternoon for the Fall: the 2023 preseason schedule. The New Jersey Devils are set to play seven games with six of them being against the three most local opponents, as is tradition.

While the Devils have not made any official announcements, this does mesh with the preseason schedule officially announced by Philly. The Flyers are indeed playing the Devils on the 25th and 30th. As far as I can tell, all games will be at their respective arenas.

The preseason will begin with a split-squad game (two full rosters playing at the same time) and then play every other day from the second game until the end. Which is a bit odd as I would have expected a two-day break in between to allow for cuts. Instead, they will be made in between all of these different games. The final game (or two games) may be close to an actual regular season lineup. Basically, as the preseason progresses, expect the roster to be cut down to 23.

We do know that the Utica Comets will have their home opener on October 13 and that they will have at least one pre-season game in Utica (and tickets remain available for it). The Comets will need players for their camp, so that may coincide with the second week of preseason games. Again, this helps us guess what the beginning of the 2023-24 campaign would look like.

We can also guess as to when the actual regular season and training camp will begin. Camp will likely start in the week or so before the first preseason game. Expect rookies to report earlier than the established veterans. As for the regular season, that could begin in the following week of October. Definitely a few days after October 6. The NHL traditionally releases their regular season schedule around the week of the NHL Draft. That is next week; we will find out soon when exactly it will be and where it will start for Our Favorite Team.

What we cannot guess is how will the games will be broadcast. I would like to think the games against Our Hated Rivals will be on TV in some way or form. I am unsure about the others. Hopefully there will be some way to follow these games. I would expect any information on that to come out in September ahead of those games.

What do you make of the Devils’ seven-game preseason schedule? Are you already setting your calendar up for the impending release of the full 2023-24 schedule? Please leave your answers and other thoughts about the preseason schedule in the comments. Thanks to Nichols for getting this out first. Thank you for reading.