Good morning Devils fans. Big news came out yesterday regarding one of the Devils divisional rivals: the Pittsburgh Penguins acquired Erik Karlsson in a 3 team trade. The breakdown for the trade is:
PIT Acquires:
Erik Karlsson - $1.5M Retained by SJ
Dillon Hamaliuk
2026 3rd Round Pick
Rem Pitlick
SJ Acquires:
Mike Hoffman
Mikael Granlund
2024 1st Round Conditional Pick
MON Acquires:
Jeff Petry
Casey DeSmith
Nathan Légaré
2025 2nd Round Pick
This was a trade in the works for months that many analysts have been speculating over. So, what does it do for Pittsburgh and how will it affect the Devils? First, it gives them a strong top defensive line if the Penguins team Karlsson up with former Devils Ryan Graves. Additionally, the acquisition of Rem Pitlick could help their bottom line if there are any injuries. The utility forward has put up 21G-33A-54P in 123 games for his career. Pitlick won’t help much defensively though with a -20 over his career. On the negative side, Pittsburgh will be a bit light going into this year’s draft, with 1 pick each for the 2nd, 4th, and 6th round and a pair in 7th. That will be a concern for GM Kyle Dubas as the team approaches the trade deadline. Depending on their season, they could ride it out or sell players for draft capital.
With the change to the roster, it got me thinking about how the Devils will stack up against the divisional competition this season with all the offseason moves. For each team I will give a ranking out of 1-10, 10 being the biggest threat to the Devils. I’ll analyze where the team was last year vs. now players wise, their previous season record, and how I think they will do this year.
Carolina Hurricanes
Last Season Finish: 1st, 52-21-9
Additions: Dmitry Orlov, Michael Bunting, Griffin Mendel, Dylan Cochlan, Brendan Lemeiux, Tony DeAngelo
Subtractions: Maxime Lajoie, Calvin de Haan, Shayne Gostisbehere, Max Pacioretty
Storyline: The Hurricanes played well last season, combining deep scoring across 4 lines with a great shutdown defense. The goaltending wasn’t anything to write home about but did its job. This squad knocked the Devils out in the 2nd round. The team they are putting together this season will keep deep balanced scoring a priority with add bottom 6 physicality and a strong defensive mindset. The goaltending didn’t make any splashes but could pay dividends with net front defensive presence.
Score 1-10: 9
Columbus Blue Jackets
Last Season Finish: 8th, 25-48-9
Additions: Ivan Provorov, Damon Severson
Subtractions: Gavin Bayreuther, Lane Peterson, Mathieu Olivier
Storyline: After a dismal season that saw Columbus become an AHL rotating door, they’ll be aiming to bounce back and become competitive again. While Johnny Gaudreau and Patrick Laine put up decent seasons, the rest of the team had trouble stopping chances and putting together consistent efforts. Goalies Merzlikins and Tarasov will look to elevate their game and earn an above .500 record with the additions of Provorov and Severson aiming to help clean up the defense. New head coach Mike Babcock could take this team a different way down the road but I don’t see much change this season happening as their main objective will be to find a system that works better for them and develop their prospect pool.
Score 1-10: 2
New York Islanders
Last Season Finish: 4th, 42-31-9
Additions: None
Subtractions: Josh Bailey
Storyline: A return to the postseason in a cut-throat wildcard race saw this gritty blue collar team defined by their goaltending tandem of Sorokin and Varlamov. In lieu of big offseason headhunting for trades and free agent contracts, the Isles instead invested their cap into extension for roster players due to hit the market. The problem for them is going to be offense. Can Barzal remain healthy? Can Horvat elevate his game and compete with Nelson for big points? While they will be a tough team to score against, I don’t foresee their offense being much of a challenge.
Score 1-10: 5
New York Rangers
Last Season Finish: 3rd, 47-22-13
Additions: Blake Wheeler, Erik Gustafsson, Jonathan Quick
Subtractions: Patrick Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko, Niko Mikkola
Storyline: After a strong regular season showing, the Rangers assembled big name moves to bolster their roster going into the playoffs. While they easily handled the first two games, the Devils rebounded in the series with the emergence of Akira Schmid to take the playoff “Battle of the Hudson” series 4-3. Head coach Gerard Gallant was replaced by Peter Laviolette. The team has moved away from Kane and Tarasenko with a focus on veteran leadership with Wheeler and Quick. The Rangers still have a palpable offense behind Panarin, Zibanejad and Fox with Shesterkin still a massive force to be reckoned with behind the pipes.
Score 1-10: 7
Philadelphia Flyers
Last Season Finish: 7th, 31-38-13
Additions: Ryan Poehling, Garnet Hathaway, Marc Staal
Subtractions: James van Riemsdyk
Storyline: Head coach John Tortorella has a no-nonsense approach to the game (and interviews). He understands what this team is and what it isn’t. In lieu of chasing a big name, the team sought out depth acquisitions for experience and leadership. Outside of Konecny, this offense will struggle to put up big points. Combine that with the goaltending of Carter Hart, who can sometimes play well and steal games if the defense is there to help him. Hart will aim to escalate his save percentage and goals allowed numbers. If this is a team who will buy into Tort’s shutdown 2-way system, I can see them improving a bit this season. But not much will change this season in what Philly hopes will be a quick rebuild.
Score 1-10: 3
Pittsburgh Penguins
Last Season Finish: 5th, 40-31-11
Additions: Erik Karlsson, Noel Acciari, Lars Eller, Reilly Smith, Ryan Graves
Subtractions: Jason Zucker, Brian Dumoulin
Storyline: The Penguins had a bit of a wakeup call this season. While veterans like Malkin and Letang played their 1000th games this year, the team ended the year in a highly competitive race for the final wildcard spot for the playoffs. Their roster getting knocked out of contention saw the Penguins missing the playoffs for the first time since Sidney Crosby was a rookie. On the positive sides: Crosby, Malkin and Guentzel (hopefully for the Pens will return from injury soon) are still putting up big numbers. Karlsson and Graves will push their defensive core to a new level this season, there is no doubt there. If goalie Tristan Jarry can match their energy of an improved d-core around him, that will make the Penguins much more dangerous. But the clock is ticking for this group as their veterans are getting long in the tooth, foreshadowing what could be a tough rebuilding season in a few years.
Score 1-10: 6
Washington Capitals
Last Season Finish: 6th, 35-37-10
Additions: Max Pacioretty, Joel Edmundson
Subtractions:Connor Sheary
Storyline: The aging Capitals missed the playoffs this season in an incredibly competitive top 4 race in the Metro Division. Ovechkin can still score like it's nobody’s business and Dylan Strome has found his new home beneficial to his production, but there is a big drop off after the top 6. The defense took a slight step forward with Edmundson but not much. Goaltender Darcy Keumper can only do as well as how the team plays in front of him. A similar situation to Pittsburgh, the Caps could be in a tough rebuild after this year with their core getting older. On the positive side, they do have some draft capital for 2025’s 2nd round and could make some moves at the deadline to improve the pipeline and become more dangerous at the draft to help accelerate the incoming rebuild. For this season, I don’t see much of a change from where they were this season.
Score 1-10: 4
The Devils’ season will be determined by three major questions:
Can the offense put everything together to make their top 9 work?
Will the defense take a step backward in the name of youth progress?
Can Akira Schmid become a legit NHL starter and put up 40 games and 30+ wins?
What are your thoughts? Who do you think will be threats and who will be minor road bumps in the division? Can the Devils overtake the Hurricanes and win their division for the first time since 2009-10?
On a personal note, before I wrap up, I wanted to let you all know that my wife and I are expecting our first child to be born this week. My writing may be a bit sporadic for the next week or so. I’ll try to keep up with any big roster and organization news and update you all as soon as I can. Thanks again for all the support with the articles.
Leave your thoughts and comments below. Raise Hell,
-Josh Biringer
New Jersey Devils Blogger • 
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