The New Jersey Devils have had a pretty good off-season.
They lucked into drafting Nico Hischier 1st overall, they acquired Marcus Johansson for pennies on the dollar and they signed 2017 Hobey Baker winner Will Butcher, among others.
Still, the Devils are far from a polished team and there are plenty of question marks heading into the 2017-18 season.
Let's take a look at a few of them.
1. Will the defense hold up?
That was a big question a year ago and the answer, as we found out, was a resounding no.
The Devils' defense couldn't move the puck, were routinely hemmed into their own zone for extended periods of play, and made Cory Schneider, annually one of the league's best goaltenders, look very pedestrian on a lot of nights.
To the surprise of many -- myself included -- Ray Shero did not add any established defensemen to the roster over the summer.
Instead, Shero is banking heavily on the development of Butcher, Mirco Mueller, and Steve Santini. If those guys don't step up in a big way, the Devils are going to be in a lot of trouble.
2. How much can the kids contribute up front?
With Zajac out for the foreseeable future, the Devils have only four established forwards capable of producing even 35+ points on an annual basis (Taylor Hall, Marcus Johansson, Kyle Palmieri and Adam Henrique).
If their offense is going to be remotely good, they need young players like Hischier, Pavel Zacha, and John Quenneville to make meaningful contributions on a consistent basis.
There's only one problem: it's very difficult for rookies and sophomores to do that.
In 2016-17, only 20 players who met the criteria hit the 35 point mark and that includes several older players like Artemi Panarin, Conor Sheary, and Nikita Zaitsev, all of whom were put into much better situations.
An average of .66 rookies/sophomores per team tallied 35+ points and, for the Devils' offense to be any good, they'll probably need three to do so.
That's a lot to ask, which is why it'll probably be another year or two before the Devils have a truly potent offense.
3. Can Cory Schneider return to form?
The Devils are not going to be a great defensive team. Their blue line isn't very good, they're breaking in a lot of young players -- both on defense and up front -- and their best two-way player, Travis Zajac, will be out of the lineup for the foreseeable future.
If the Devils are going to be remotely competitive on a nightly basis, they need Cory Schneider to post a .920SV% or better.
The good news is he did that in each of his first six seasons as a regular in the NHL and, given goaltenders tend to age a little better than players, I think he still has it in him at 31.
If he doesn't, the Devils will probably own another high pick come June.
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