Devils win the draft lottery!

As I attempted to grab a nap after the conclusion of the NFL Draft and the thrilling Anthony Joshua-Wladimir Klitschko bout,the NHL held their draft lottery.

The NHL does their lottery a bit differently than the NBA,so it seems to be easier to climb in the draft or fall than in the basketball lottery.
Had the draft order been determined by record,the Devils would have drafted in the fifth position and when you crunch the numbers,the Devils highest chance by percentage (33 percent) was to drop one spot to sixth.

The Devils had won the lottery once before when the rules were different and the winner could not rise more than four spots at the time.
That victory moved the Devils from eighth to fourth and resulted in the selection of Adam Larsson.
In this one,it was going to take luck and the Devils had just that-as they won the lottery and will
select first in the June draft.
The Devils have never owned the first pick in the draft,although the previous incarnation as the Colorado Rockies,they did have the top selection once in 1979 and selected Rob Ramage,who had a long career with several team,but just missed being a Devil as he was traded to St.Louis in the off-season before the first season in New Jersey.

New Jersey is expected to take one of two players ranked highest by the various scouting services.
I don't claim to know nearly as much about hockey prospects as football or basketball,so on these things I tend to gather the opinions of others and then apply that to the Devils needs.
The two prospects that stand ahead of the rest is Canadian center Nolan Patrick,who's game has been compared to Jonathan Toews and Swiss center Nico Hischier,who has brought Pavel Datsyuk to mind.
Patrick is reported to be the safer and more solid choice,while Hischier is the flashier with more upside,so either player could be the choice.

It's too bad that this draft couldn't have been similar to the last two with the type of prospects that could have transformed an organization like Connor McDavid or Austen Matthews,but either Patrick or Hischier will be a foundation piece of an organization still in the middle of a remodeling stint.
These things take time,but being lucky enough to gain the top pick in the draft is an major step forward in that process and should the right player be selected,it could speed the redevelopment of a franchise that is still in need of top line talent...

Goodbye to Patrik Elias

I haven't been watching as much hockey of late.
The Devils are in the midst of a terrible,but necessary season (to truly rebuild-bad seasons are part of the price that you pay) and not only are they bad-they aren't all that fun to watch (true offensive stars come through the draft and it can take multiple bad years to do so,but once you do as Pittsburgh and now Edmonton are showing-the fruits are quite immense),so unless you enjoy watching a team that isn't built around defense,waddle around defensively and miss offensive chances,games aren't must see TV.

I did watch the Devils lose to the Islanders in Brooklyn 2-1 in a dull game and at the end of a bad season,losses are easier to take-especially when those picks in the draft continue to rise.
With just a few games to go and a few of those being while I'm away for baseball,I won't be seeing a lot down the stretch,so I wanted to note the big news of the day.
The retirement of Patrik Elias was a anti-climax,but still was a mild surprise anyway.

Elias was still unsigned and as he neared 41,it didn't take a genius to figure out that the rebuilding Devils didn't need the return of an aging winger,who had played just 16 games in 2015-16 and the bigger question was whether Elias would decide to see what he had remaining in the legs with another franchise or not.
Elias decided that he wanted to retire a Devil and I applaud him for doing so.
After 23 seasons in New Jersey after being a second round pick in 1994,Elias was one of the few to spend his entire career with one franchise.
I would guess that Elias watched the experience that Martin Brodeur had in finishing up his career in just a few games as a St.Louis Blue and the decision was made to avoid having a second team notched on his resume',especially when it would be a stopgap measure at best.

Elias was almost the poster child for the Lou Lamiorello Devils for a forward.
Effective,but not overly flashy and as most Devils of that era had to be defensively responsible,Elias was an excellent all around player.
Elias was always one of the more popular players on the team and was known for being not only one of the classier players in the league,but one that liked to show a sense of humor both in the locker room and with the general public-as shown in the picture above when he had a big game on a St.Patrick's Day.

Patrik Elias leaves the Devils with the franchise record for both goals and assists along with the promise that during next season that his 26 will be raised to the rafters of the Prudential Center and with his numbers,he has a decent chance to eventually be in the hockey hall of fame.
I'm not sure if the hockey hall isn't too easy to enter and lots of near greats (like Elias) are in their hall,so considering all of that,I like his eventual chances.
Elias will be missed,but the time had come.
I hope the Devils find a place for him in the organization,as a coach,scout or even a goodwill ambassador of some sort,but if not,Devils fans will still have plenty of memories of the best offensive player to wear their uniform....

Devils trade Fiddler

I missed the Devils loss to Calgary (Had to work) and their win tonight over Columbus due to being in Harrisburg for the Senators Hot Stove Banquet,so not much on the game front.
As I have written before,I don't feel comfortable writing about games that I haven't watched.
In my opinion,that does not add analysis,I'm just rehashing numbers and other peoples thoughts that watched the game..

However,there is Devils news as the Devils traded veteran forward Vernon Fiddler to the Nashville Predators in return for a fourth round draft pick.
Fiddler had recently returned from a foot injury and scored one goal with two assists in 39 games with the Devils.
Fiddler had been signed over the summer to a one year contract from the Dallas Stars as a checking line forward and for help with the penalty kill and was exactly the type of low cost free agent signing that you hope could provide some help and leadership before potentially being moved to a contender for an asset at deadline time..

A fourth round pick doesn't seem like much,but more late round picks add up,can help in getting a prospect by moving up on draft day and when you are in the middle of a rebuild-the more picks for journeyman players that you can obtain,the faster the process can move.
Vernon Fiddler may have not produced as much as the Devils may have wished for,but we don't know what the pick obtained for him will bring-Hope springs eternal...

Devils hold off Wings 4-3

The New Jersey Devils played two strong periods and built a 4-1 lead in the third before staggering through the stretch and barely holding onto a 4-3 lead to defeat the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena..
Cory Schneider finished with 27 saves including a huge one with seconds remaining to cement the victory.
Kyle Palmieri scored twice (12 shorthanded and 13) to lead the Devils offense with Adam Henrique (13 shorthanded) and Stefan Noesen (4) providing the other New Jersey goals.
The Devils are off until Friday when they host Calgary in the first of a three games in four days run...

Hell Raisers

1) I liked what I saw from Cory Schneider in this one.
I thought the second goal was on him,but the first and three ones certainly couldn't be hung on him.
I think this was something to build on after his mopup effort against Washington...

2) Schneider also saved the game with a massive save with under 15 seconds to go.
The "duh" comment is to say that the Devils don't win without that save,but they don't and Schneider deserves the credit for the big play at the biggest time.

3) Kyle Palmeiri with two goals and one of them shorthanded?
The shorthanded one was the real surprise usually because Palmeiri doesn't usually see a lot of ice time with the Devils being a man down.
A Palmeiri return to form certainly would be a jolt to an offense in need of it.

4) Adam Henrique's shorthander with a flip over the shoulder of Jared Coreau and then going into the net on the bounce was another visually impressive goal.
I also liked Henrique's defensive play on the evening...

5) Stefan Noesen continued his fast start since being obtained off the waiver wire with the first goal of the game.
Noesen narrowly missed another goal shortly thereafter when a shot hit the post.
Noesen is hustling like a guy that is trying to take advantage of a new beginning and I hope this continues....

6) Non-Devils point-The Barclays Center has reportedly given notice to the Islanders that they want out of their deal with the team,so the clock has started ticking-the Islanders have two years to find a place to play.
The Rangers couldn't (likely wouldn't,even if they wanted to) share the Garden as they already have the Knicks there,The Devils likely wouldn't be interested in sharing the Rock and the Nassau Coliseum (the Islanders old home) might not be suitable despite a current renovation.
That means the Islanders might have to be involved in building a new arena,which if they had that possibility,they wouldn't have been in Barclays to begin with or might be on the move.
Let's make the stretch and say the move begins to happen-where will they land?
I'd think Quebec City would be the favorite with an arena ready to go.
In that scenario,I would think the league would want Quebec City in the same division as Montreal and Ottawa and my guess would be that the Boston Bruins would replace the Islanders in the Metropolitan Division.
Kansas City has an arena ready to go,so don't rule them out,Seattle makes tons of sense,but they don't have an arena and here are two more sleeper long shots,if the league wants to keep them in the Eastern time zone.
Cincinnati has a history of supporting hockey well,has talked on renovating their arena and would be a market where the NHL team would not share space with an NBA team.
Quicken Loans Arena is doing some fixup work in Cleveland,the Monsters draw well in the AHL and Dan Gilbert might be amenable to either owning or serving as landlord to another major league sport to help pay the bills.
My money would be on Quebec City,but there could be a few other horses in that race,if it's run...

Retro night/Devils Notes

It's retro night in New Jersey and I've been more than a bit lazy in keeping on the Devils.
When I work a lot (and I have been),sleep is sometimes hard to come by and the Devils have been the team/part of the blog that have paid the price.

I'll add a few game notes from the retro night game vs Washington and the all time worst announcing pairing in the game,but there are two news notes that I wanted to write about first..

The note that will affect the team right away is the claim of right winger Stefan Noesen off waivers from Anaheim.
The 2011 first round pick of Ottawa was a main piece of the trade with Anaheim that sent Bobby Ryan to the Senators,but has never been able to break through on the main roster there.
Noesen scored his first two career goals for the Ducks this season in 12 games before being waived.
Noesen is still young as he turns just 24 in a few weeks,so this is a low risk acquisition for a very low cost and a player with talent that might just need a change of scenery.
New Jersey placed winger Beau Bennett on injured reserve to make space for Noesen on the roster...

The other note isn't as important in the short term,but perhaps more important in the long as the Devils are expected to announce over the weekend after approval from the AHL at their all-star game that they will be moving their AHL team south in New York from Albany to Binghamton.

Albany ranks 30 (last) in attendance in the AHL with just 2,888 fans in a 15,000 seat arena with Binghamton being 29th of 30 in their final season with the Senators as the Senators were bought and will be moved to Belleville Ontario for the 2017-18 season.
However,Binghamton still averages 3,436 in an arena that holds under 5,000 at Floyd Maines arena and Binghamton is paying the Devils two million to make the move as well as providing the staff to run the team.
The Devils will now enter their third city in the top minor league since 2010 having left Lowell,Massachusetts to move to Albany.
I have mixed feelings on the move.
I feel for Albany because it always is bad to lose a team,but in an era that sees the AHL move to bigger cities,attendance is becoming an even larger issue for the league and under 3,000 fans a night in a large arena looks really bad.
Binghamton had their team pulled out from under them and from the day the move to Belleville was announced,the word spread that Binghamton was not going to lose hockey as the league was going to make sure the city was taken care of.
For me,it's easier-Binghamton is still four hours from here,but it's an easy drive (unlike Albany) and I can see me doing that for an early or late season trip some year...

It was retro night as the Devils returned to the loved red and green for an evening.
Sadly,of all teams to play,it was the Washington Capitals as the opponent and between the Capitals being very good,their announcers being very bad and forced to watch their network (so we missed all the old school video clips),this was the worst team for me to have as the opposition on retro night..
It all proved to be true as Washington chased Keith Kinkaid and defeated the Devils 5-2.
Devils goals to Adam Henrique ( 12 Power Play) and newcomer Stefan Noesen (3) in the defeat,
New Jersey now gets some time off as they will not play until next Tuesday against the Red Wings in Detroit.

Hell Raisers

1) Keith Kinkaid had been the goalie that had been playing with Cory Schneider dealing with ineffectiveness and illness.
Tonight,it was Kinkaid that was ineffective and was lifted after four goals in a period and change...

2) It wasn't all on Kinkaid as two of those goals were created by poor defense.
The Alex Ovechkin goal came off a strip and go from Kyle Quincey that was very soft on the part of Quincey.
I know Ovechkin is a star and the officials call things very tight on star players these days,but you cannot completely refuse to touch the guy like Quincey did..

3) And then there's Jon Merrill,who handed the Capitals a goal by doing exactly what you are trained not to do when pressured near your own net-move the puck toward the net.
Sure enough,Merrill's puck move deflected off Adam Henrique and into the net.
Dumb hockey...

4) I hope the period and a half of strong play by Cory Schneider and then resulting break for the All-Star game can get him back into gear a bit.
Schneider made two spectacular saves and looked very sharp in relief.
You want this team to turn around after the break?
Cory Schneider needs to be the person that steps up..

5) I did like what I saw from Stefan Noesen,who scored the first goal for the Devils.
Noesen was quoted as saying he could bring a player that likes to crash the net and bang away to a team that needed it.
If Noesen can bring that,he'll stick for a while...

6) I still love the red and green and if the owners (post-Lou) want to make a change and yet be respectful of Devils tradition then a return to the red and green makes a lot of sense to me...

7) Wrapping up,the Devils are tied with three other teams (Carolina,Buffalo and Detroit) for last place with 49 points.
It'll be interesting to see if the Devils attempt to improve to make a playoff run (seven points out of the final spot),try to add a player from a cap strapped team or rollover for a higher pick in the draft.
None of those would surprise me,but I suspect the Devils will be sellers rather than buyers as trade deadline time nears....

8) Editors note:After the game the Devils sent Seth Helgeson,Steve Santini and Karl Stollery to Albany....

Devils rally past Toronto 5-4

The Toronto Maple Leafs ripped off three first period goals in Newark to seemingly send the New Jersey Devils to another defeat.
In fact,it was so bad that I was watching Charlie Brown Thanksgiving instead of the intermission show (which if you've heard Deb Placey,the adults in the Peanuts world are more intelligible) and I was resigned to an awful evening.
However,three goals in the first five minutes of the second period turned things upside down and returned the Devils to contention.
In the end,the game was decided by one shot as Jacob Josefson scored the only goal of the shootout to snap a three game losing streak and give the Devils an improbable 5-4 win.
New Jersey received goals from Travis Zajac (5).Michael Cammalleri (4),Yohann Auvitu (2) and Beau Bennett (1 Power Play) in the victory.
New Jersey will next host the Detroit Red Wings on Friday night.

Hell Raisers

1) Michael Cammalleri returned to the lineup after missing the road trip and did so with a vengeance as he scored a goal and assisted on each of the other three goals that the Devils scored in regulation.
Cammalleri missed the road swing due to serious physical health issues with his daughter and his play upon his return was certainly inspired.
It's funny how often that happens in sports.

2) The power play finally returned to the scoresheet with Beau Bennett's first goal of the season.
Bennett had seemingly been in bad luck this season and his lack of success with good chances made me think of Jacob Josefson's similar problems through the seasons.
I like what I have seen of Bennett thus far and hope that now that the first goal has gone in that the dam has been busted...

3) Speaking of Jacob Josefson,Jacob has had some problems through the years in scoring,but he seems to have found a niche' as a shootout specialist.
Jacob shows the creativity in the shootout that he sometimes lacks in the flow of the game and in my opinion should be used early and often when the shootout situations are in order...

4) I've been critical of Travis Zajac,not as much as a player as the ridiculously long contract that Lou Lamoriello signed him to.
Zajac is off to a strong start this season though ( 5 goals 8 assists) and finished last night with a goal and two assists.
The Zajac,Cammalleri,P.A.Parenteau line has shown some chemistry,but occasionally against Toronto,Nick Lappin spent some time in Parenteau's place and the line didn't look out of place...

5) Cory Schneider started slow in net in allowing those three first period goals and one would not have blamed John Hynes for calling on Keith Kinkaid as it seemed like one of those off nights that all goalies suffer through.
Schneider stepped up thereafter and was huge in net in both overtime and the flawless shootout in notching the victory.
Sometimes,the coaches patience can be rewarded...

6) Finally,I was very impressed with the latest young star in the league with Toronto's Auston Matthews.
Matthews scored two goals and while I haven't seen enough of him to truly compare with the most recent first pick Connor McDavid,I think the Maple Leafs have themselves a player to build around..

Henrique dims Stars with OT goal!

The slow start to the season for Adam Henrique hopefully has ended as Henrique took a pass from Kyle Palmieri on a 2 on 1 breakaway in overtime and flipped it over Antti Niemi to give the New Jersey Devils their fifth win in a row-this one 2-1 over the Dallas Stars.
Henrique's goal (3) allowed the Devils to start their four game road trip with a victory on a day that started with concern (more below) and ended with a strong effort against a good team.
Damon Severson scored (3) the first goal of the game for the Devils with Cory Schneider stopping 24 Dallas shots.
The next game for the Devils is Thursday night in Anaheim-no coverage due to the late start time and work....

Hell Raisers

1) The big news and concern is Taylor Hall missing the game with the "lower body injury".
Hall returned to New Jersey for an MRI today and a loss of Hall for this lineup could be massive.
Hall is tied for the team lead in points with Damon Severson and if this could be a long term absence,the Devils are going to be right back where they were last season as far as scoring goals go-trouble..

2) I wrote in the season preview that someone was going to have step up in the absence of Adam Larsson among the defensive corps,if the Devils were to have any chance of continuing to improve this season.
Thus far,someone has-In Damon Severson,the Devils just may have found their young blueliner that can combine offense with defense.
Severson currently is tied for the team lead in points with Taylor Hall and has been solid on the defensive end as he is comprising a solid tandem with Andy Greene.
Long way to go,but I like what I am seeing...

3) Adam Henrique hasn't played well most of the time this season and though I wouldn't attribute that to a lack of effort,this is a results business.
It was nice to see some of that effort rewarded with the game winner.
Henrique scored 30 goals last season,but I don't believe that he is a true 30 goal scorer and don't expect that from him,but I do think that he is a better player than he has shown this season.
Hopefully,this is the start of better things...

4) Cory Schneider didn't have as many saves as his counterpart Antti Niemi,but he had a tremendous night.
Schneider made some tremendous saves and kept the Devils in the game to give them a chance in the offensive end,,

5) Very classy of the Stars to give Vernon Fiddler a tribute on their video board before the game and equally as classy for John Hynes to give the fourth line (which Fiddler is a part of) the chance to start the game as the first line on the ice for the faceoff.
Guys like Fiddler don't get a ton of face time,but they are the grinders that make the game what it is and often are shunted into the background.
Kudos to the Stars and coach Hynes for remembering that...

6) Finally,Five wins in a row?
I don't have a stat in front of me,but it has been a while since five wins in a row.
This might be just because I am happy with the recent level of play,but I think we are on the right track with Ray Shero and John Hynes.
I think there is a long way to go in this overhaul of talent into a new style of play and there will be plenty of time for frustration and even doubt,but I think we are moving forward and with a few more drafts,the Devils are going to get there....

Beaten in Boston-Devils lose 2-1

After a scoreless first two periods,the New Jersey Devils looked to be in position for a road win after Kyle Palmeiri (2 Power Play) scored the first goal of the game..
However,the Boston Bruins scored twice in the final ten minutes,one with under two minutes to play and left the Devils grasping at air in a 2-1 Boston win.
Cory Schneider finished with 34 saves in the loss.
The Devils face Minnesota on Saturday-no coverage as the game is against the Ohio State trip to Penn State

Hell Raisers

1) The Devils lived by the deflection and died by it.
The Kyle Palmeiri goal was redirected off a skate of Boston's Brandon Cairo and the game winner by Patrice Bergeron ticked off the skate of Kyle Quincey,handcuffing Cory Schneider and giving Boston the win.

2) New Jersey just seemed out of sync in this loss and was outskated by the Bruins.
I'm going to give a lot of the credit for this to being the Boston home opener.
The Devils were boosted vs Anaheim by that factor,I'll assume that was the case for Boston in this one...

3) Cory Schneider was excellent in defeat.
Being beaten by a deflection and a well placed shot to defeat him,no shame there...

4) Remember the last edition of Hell Raisers when I raved about Taylor Hall being a finisher?
Hall missed an open net in this one and should have scored a goal,but Zdeno Chara did get a piece of the puck on a stick check and the penalty called on the play turned out to set up the Kyle Palmieri goal..

5) The Bruins honored my all time favorite player before the game as the 50th (I cannot believe that is so!) anniversary of Bobby Orr's debut is this year.
Orr pushed 98 year old Milt Schmidt to center ice for the ceremonial puck drop.
Orr is currently a player agent and looks like with a drop or two or hair dye that he could still play today....

Hall of a debut in Devils home opener

Taylor Hall scored twice on the power play in the second period to lift the New Jersey Devils to a 2-1 victory in their home opener over the visiting Anaheim Ducks.
Cory Schneider finished with 23 saves in net to earn the victory..
The Devils travel to Boston Thursday to face the Bruins...

Hell Raisers

1) Now that is what this team has been lacking since the loss of Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk!
Taylor Hall brings the type of finisher both around and outside the net that Devils fans have missed so much.

2) Watch how Taylor Hall slammed Mike Cammalleri's shot off John Gibson into the net.
That is a finisher,my friends and the lack of those type of players on this team still shows as Adam Henrique would show hitting the pipe.
The Devils still need some more offensive firepower,but a player such as Taylor Hall shows the foundation for our rebuild has been poured...

3) Cory Schneider gets ripped a lot in my house and not by me either (The ladies here are far from fans of his),but his stop of Chris Wagner on a penalty shot was big and not for a save either.
Schneider's maneuvering to force Wagner into doing things that he didn't want to with the puck,resulted in Wagner losing control and the puck skimmed helplessly into the boards.
It's not always the flashy things that make one an excellent goaltender...

4) A rough night for the man that is loved by Rachel as Adam Henrique committed two dumb penalties,one of which created the penalty shot and hit the pipe on a wide open scoring opportunity.
I know that anything negative written about "The Most Handsome Man Alive" (Rachel's opinion,not mine!) doesn't go well,but gotta call them straight if you want to be credible...

5) I think Pavel Zacha has the potential to be a offensive force (although maybe not right away) and I think the Devils need to start the learning curve now with keeping him on the team.
I really liked his passing and he set up Devante Smith-Pelly up for five shots last night.
Keep that up and the third line might surprise some people with production with Beau Bennett joining in...

6) Loved the crowd last night-the place was really rocking and brought back old memories of better days.
However,I hate the "new tradition announcement" before the game of after the anthem conclusion of some fans shouting "We Are" followed by "Jersey".
It brings to mind Penn State and that is neither New Jersey or Classy considering what that school allows....

Devils drop Florida opener in OT

The New Jersey Devils picked up one point in their season opener in front of what appeared to be 100 people in Miami,as the Florida Panthers scored a 2-1 overtime win over the Devils.
PA Parenteau scored the only Devils goal in the first period when a Yohann Auvitu shot bounced off Parenteau and by Roberto Luongo....
The Devils return to the ice in Florida Saturday night in Tampa on a busy sports night for me (Indians,Buckeyes and Devils) and on a day/night that something else is going on as well...

Hell Raisers

1) Not the most exciting game that I have ever seen and that is to be expected from an opener,but the Devils were outshot 34-24 and that I don't account for being in the opener.
Shots on goal should not be totally affected to that degree early on in the season..

2) Great night for Cory Schneider,who was not accountable for either of the Florida goals-the first of which deflected off a Devils (John Moore,I believe) and the game ending goal in which he was hung out to dry.
Terrific night from Schneider and the main reason the Devils walked away with a point...

3) Damon Severson has to get tougher on the puck.
Severson was just blown away behind the net in overtime by Michael Matheson,who then hit Aleksander Barkov for the one timer that ended the game.
Severson has to be tougher in situations similar to that and at least force teams to work harder...

4) That said,there could be an argument that Severson was interfered with shortly thereafter.
Severson was knocked off the puck cleanly,but was then thrown off off his feet and to the ice.
Remember in Rocky III in the Clubber Lang intro where he threw his opponent into the turnbuckle?
It was kinda like that.
It was a borderline call and one that (in my opinion) shouldn't be called in overtime and wasn't-Lets hope that over the course of the season,the Devils get one of those too...

5) Happy for rookie French defenseman Yohann Auvitu for his first NHL point in his first game.
We'll see how long he sticks around,but he'll always have Florida..

6) Adam Henrique whiffed on a great opportunity early in overtime.
I of course would love to see those slammed home,but on that at least,I'll feel comfortable with "it's early season".

7) This defense is going to be slow.S L O W....
Both newcomers that played on the blueline (Kyle Quincey and Ben Lovejoy) looked downright turtleish in the loss.
This team needs more speed on the defense and if Lovejoy is slow now-imagine how slow he'll be after the end of his three year deal?
That one looks questionable to me....

2016-17 New Jersey Devils Preview

The retooling of the New Jersey Devils organization continues in year two of the Ray Shero/John Hynes area as the team attempts become a smoother,faster and more offensive team and catch up to the rest of the National Hockey League that made changes far faster than the Devils did.

The biggest and flashiest move made since the season ended was the surprising addition of left winger Taylor Hall in a straight up trade with the Edmonton Oilers for defenseman Adam Larsson.
Although Larsson will be missed (more on that with the defense preview),the Devils haven't had a scorer like Taylor Hall since the departures of Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk and Hall's 26 goals last season might even able to be improved on.
Hall will start the season on a line with Adam Henrique and my guess (a guess based on player style and could change on chemistry) would be the newest Devil PA Parenteau,who was claimed off waivers yesterday from the Islanders.
If Henrique can score in the neighborhood of his 30 goals of last season.this could be a very productive line and maybe give a little playoff hope...

I'm going to skip trying to project the rest of the lines because these things are constantly fluid,so I'll work on position for the rest of the forwards..
Travis Zajac continues to be the highest paid Devil as the last bad contract of the oft-rocky end of the Lou Lamoriello age and at 31 with five more season on the contract,New Jersey has to be hoping for a good season and pray that someone might be interested in taking him off their hands-even if the Devils have to pay some salary to get such a deal done.
Zajac isn't awful (14 G and 28 A in 74 games) and still is the teams best faceoff man,but the contract is bad and long,he's only going to slow down further and his speed/playing style is the antithesis of what the Shero/Hynes bunch is trying to install.
It only gets worse from there as 36 year old Vernon Fiddler was signed from Dallas after a 12 goal season and Jacob Josefson,the Schleprock of the NHL returns for likely his last chance to cement himself into the lineup.

There will be some shuffling as the season goes along with the wings as many can and will play each side of the line.
Michael Cammalleri at left wing still has the chops to be very productive if he can only stay in the lineup.
If he can do that,he still has the ability to score 25-30 goals.
Kyle Palmieri scored 30 goals in his first New Jersey season and if slotting with Cammalleri and Zajac as a line,could approach that number again.
As with the centers,once you get past the top few,the questions become more numerous than any answers right now.
Devante' Smith-Pelly was impressive in 18 games with the Devils after being obtained from Montreal,but we will see if those numbers can be repeated.
Talented former first rounder Beau Bennett arrived from Pittsburgh with an injury-prone reputation,Reid Boucher still has plenty to prove and the remaining three youngsters that made the opening night roster have questions where they will play most of their season.
Sergei Kalinin (illness) and Luke Gadzic (broken foot after being added from Edmonton) will start the season on injured reserve.
When healthy,both players will likely be given ice time with the fourth line.
2015 first rounder Pavel Zacha will be given every chance to stick,Miles Wood might be the up and down player to make rosters work with in season injuries to Albany with Joe Blandisi (who was actually assigned there) and Blake Spears made the team,but is still eligible to return to junior hockey..

The defense took a massive hit in trading Adam Larsson to Edmonton for Taylor Hall.
I liked the trade for the Devils and agreed with the move,but Larsson was just beginning to really come into his own as a player and his loss will be felt..
Andy Greene returns as the captain and the steady hand on the wheel on the blueline.
The soon to be 34 year old will need that steady hand with young players and new players joining the corps.
Ben Lovejoy was added from you guessed it Pittsburgh and French defenseman Yohann Auvitu makes his NHL debut after spending last season in the Finnish league.
John Moore is the only other returning veteran other than Greene,
Recent signee Kyle Quincey (lower body) and returning Jon Merrill (broken finger) will each start the season on the IR.
The most interesting and needed are young players Damon Severson and Steve Santini,who both will need to step up for the Devils to have a chance at the playoffs.
Severson has been unable to sustain some occasional strong play,while Santini is essentially making his debut after a one game cameo last season.
Both are very talented and if both are able to play well,the Devils defense could suddenly look pretty strong.
Seth Helgeson would be the most likely callup from Albany,if injuries required such a move.

Cory Schneider is back as the mainstay in net after a strong year with a 2.26 GAA,which was impressive in general,but especially on a non-playoff team.
In order for the Devils to have a playoff chance,Schneider will have to repeat those numbers.
Keith Kinkaid returns as the number two man after fighting off Scott Wedgewood in a tight battle to backup Schneider.
In case of injury to either goaltender,Wedgewood will get the call up to fill the roster...

Now what do I think?
The Devils have made steps forward.
Acquiring Taylor Hall is huge,but the team will need some of the younger defensemen to play well and one of the forwards with talent yet unproven production to break out a bit.
Whether it is Pavel Zacha playing at a high level at 19,Beau Bennett staying healthy all season,Reid Boucher improving or Devante Smith-Pelly continuing his performance since arriving in New Jersey,one or more is needed to happen.
I still don't see this as a playoff team,too many questions and older legs at forward and the defense isn't top notch either.
I suppose that a superb Cory Schneider could wrangle enough extra wins to allow the team to contend for the 8th seed,but more likely a similar finish to last season and a draft pick in the 8-12 range in the 2017 draft.