Last Season: 44-29-9 97 pts (5th in Metropolitan Division; Lost in Eastern Conference 1st Round)
Key Additions: D Eric Gryba, and F Eric Tangradi
Key Departures: D John Moore, F Jimmy Hayes, F Patrick Maroon, F Michael Grabner, and F Brian Gibbons
Top Questions Facing the Devils:
- Can the New Jersey Devils get more offense?
Last season Taylor Hall registered 93 points, but the next closest person to him was rookie Nico Hischier with 52 points. The Devils are going to need more contributions offensively from others if they hope to continue to prove. Marcus Johansson and Kyle Palmieri will both need to have strong years, and most importantly both need to stay healthy.
2. How will the young talent continue to develop?
With General Manager Ray Shero letting veterans John Moore, Michael Grabner, and a couple others go, he made his intentions clear that he is letting the younger guys get more opportunities to grow. Guys like Pavel Zacha, Miles Wood, Jesper Bratt, Will Butcher, and others need to step up and help round out this team, but at the same time they could need more time. This will be a deciding factor for the Devils to make the playoffs again.
