1. Are the Devils better now than they were last season?
The Devils hired a proven regular-season coach in Sheldon Keefe, who was fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs on May 9 after posting a 212-97-40 record in five seasons and 16-21 in the Stanley Cup playoffs. They traded for a proven starting goaltender in Jacob Markstromwho have two seasons left on a six-year contract. They signed defenders Brett Pesce (six-year contract) and Brenden Dillon (three-year contract) and the attackers Stefan Noesen (three-year contract) and Thomas Tatar (one-year contract). Everything has to fall into place, but the acquisitions have allowed New Jersey to become bigger and stronger in critical areas.
The Devils finished last season with five 20-goal scorers: Timo Meier (28), Jack Hughes (27), Jesper Bratt (27), Nico Hischier (27) and Dawson Mercer (20). They found improvement in starting defenders Luke Hughes And Simon Nemecand obtained professional performances from the centers Curtis Lazar And Erik Haula.
“What’s really important going forward is Luke Hughes and Nemec taking that next step,” general manager Tom Fitzgerald said. “We’ve got them surrounded by veterans who have been there and understand what it takes to get where we want to go, so we don’t need them to put the team or the defensive corps on their shoulders. I’m very confident; more confident today than I was last year.”
