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The World Cup is underway and preseason is just around the corner but there hasn't been a whole lot happening in the New Jersey Devils' world of late.
With that in mind I decided to do one last Q&A blog prior to the season. Let's get right to it.
I think Taylor Hall and Adam Henrique should at least start the year together. Not just because they played on a line (and tore it up) in junior but because Travis Zajac worked very well with Kyle Palmieri last season. They spent ~70% of their 5 v 5 minutes on the same unit and the Devils scored 54.8% of the goals when that duo was out there.
I get this question a lot but it's hard to give an answer with any sort of certainty. I truly believe the Devils have that spot wide open for the taking and will give several players looks throughout the preseason. Beau Bennett, Devante Smith-Pelly, Reid Boucher and Joseph Blandisi, among others, could all be realistic candidates. Their play will ultimately decide who starts the season in that slot.
I think Kyle Palmieri, Adam Henrique, Taylor Hall and Mike Cammalleri (if he can play most of the season) are safe bets for 20 goals. I think Hall can hit 30. I think Palmieri is more likely than Henrique to hit 30 again this season.
After that there isn't really anyone I'm confident can hit 20. On a per 82 game basis Reid Boucher scored at a 17 goal pace last season but he'll need steady minutes to reach that mark this season. I don't think Pavel Zacha or Joseph Blandisi are ready to put up those kinds of numbers yet, either.
I think there will certainly be some rough patches along the way - there is bound to be when guys like Jon Merrill end up playing more minutes than they are capable of - but I don't think the defense will be a huge problem. John Hynes coaches a very structured system and that will help the back end look better than they actually are. The Devils' blue line wasn't high on talent even with Adam Larsson and, for the most part, they were solid defensively last season.
You could be right but I'd be pretty wary of putting those two together; at least until if/when Steve Santini establishes himself as an NHL regular. In my opinion no defenseman on the Devils' roster has been worse than Merrill over the last couple years so I wouldn't want to put him with a rookie who may not be ready for the big time just yet.
I wouldn't expect Fowler to land in New Jersey. His underlying numbers suggest his perceived value is higher than his actual value and those aren't usually guys you want to pay for. The Devils haven't really added anyone with underwhelming advanced stats since the new regime took over so I wouldn't expect that to happen here.
I could see a veteran coming into camp on a professional tryout, or on a one-year deal, but at this point I think the Devils are fairly content letting Steve Santini, Yohann Auvitu, Seth Helgeson and co. battle it for the 6th and 7th defense spots.
I'm going to say Blake Speers. He led the Soo Greyhounds in scoring last season but I think he will take it up a notch this season before turning pro a year from now. I expect we'll be hearing a lot about Brandon Gignac and Joey Anderson throughout the year, too.
Keith Kinkaid would require waivers to be sent down, too, so I don't think so. I expect both will get looks in camp/during the preseason and whoever plays better will get the job. Contract wise they're essentially in the same boat. Kinkaid makes a little more but the Devils have a ton of cap space so that won't be a factor.
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