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The NHL hasn't even begun and many are quick to count the New Jersey Devils out as a playoff contender this season.
Despite the additions of Michael Ryder, Ryane Clowe, Jaromir Jagr, Cory Schneider, etc. many look at the losses of David Clarkson and Ilya Kovalchuk and deem them too much for the Devils to overcome.
While Clarkson and Kovalchuk, especially the latter, were big losses, the Devils did make some good moves to help replace them and have put themselves in a position to compete.
Will the Devils dominate arguably the toughest division in hockey and finish as one of the top seeds in the Eastern Conference? Probably not, but I have reason to believe they'll compete and be in position to at least grab one of the last couple playoff spots.
Here are a few reasons why:
Better goaltending
I like Johan Hedberg and always have, but he was not very good in net for the Devils last season. He had some good starts, but at this point in his career he can't be relied upon to make anything more than a couple starts in a row. When Martin Brodeur went down with injury last season, Hedberg was the guy and honestly, he didn't give the Devils many chances to win games.
With Schneider coming on board, the Devils have one of the best goaltenders in hockey to pair with Brodeur. Schneider's worst NHL save percentage was last season and it was .927. That's stellar and is usually among the top-5 in the NHL.
If he can come into New Jersey, start 40 games or so and play the way he has over the past few seasons, the Devils will be in a position to win a lot more hockey games.
Balanced scoring
The Devils lost Clarkson and Kovalchuk and those losses will hurt, but Lou Lamoriello did a fine job of trying to replace the offense that they lost. Nobody in free agency can replace Kovalchuk, but if you bring in a few good players who can score by committee, then you should be fine. That's what Lamoriello did this off-season.
New Jersey doesn't have any go-to stars in their prime anymore, but they have a more balanced attack as they added more top-9 forwards than they lost. With the likes of Patrik Elias, Adam Henrique, Travis Zajac, etc. already on board and the Devils bringing in Ryder, Clowe, Jagr, etc. they should be able to score enough goals to win their fair share of games.
Possession, possession, possession
Since sites like BehindTheNet and HockeyAnalysis hit the internet and started tracking possession numbers, there has been a pretty direct correlation between being a good possession team and having on-ice success.
Some of the top teams in that regard last year were the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators. Look how they all fared in the playoffs.
One team that was right up there with them was the Devils. They didn't make the playoffs because they a) had no puck luck; b) couldn't stay healthy and; c) had poor goaltending.
The Devils are historically a top possession team so it's no surprise to see them have the success they had. Pete DeBoer runs a very good possession system and all of the players they brought in are 50%+ possession players and will allow DeBoer to continue running the team the way he has over the last couple years. It's probably not a coincidence that Ryder, Clowe, Jagr, etc. were brought in as they all excel in that type of system.
If the Devils stick to their game, the new faces can produce as they have in the past, and they get good goaltending from Brodeur and Schneider, there is no reason why they can't compete for a playoff spot.
As a matter of fact, if those three things line up and the Devils don't get consistently bitten by the injury bug, they'll make the playoffs. Hold me to that.
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