2013 results:
19-19-10
4th in the Atlantic Division
11th in the Eastern Conference
It would be very easy for a casual fan to put low expectations
on the 2013-2014 New Jersey Devils. The
summer of 2013 marked the second straight year that the Devils watched their
best player walk out the door. In 2012
they saw their captain, Zach Parise, join the Minnesota Wild via free agency on
a 13 year $98 million contract. On July
11, 2013 Ilya Kovalchuk retired from the NHL to play in Russia for SKA St. Petersburg,
leaving behind 12 years and $77 million.
The loss of Kovalchuk came on the heels of the Devils losing free agent
forward David Clarkson to the Maple Leafs.
These losses cause questions to be raised about the Devils offense in
2013-2014.
OFFENSE BY COMMITTEE
The Devils are only a year removed from a trip to
the Stanley Cup Finals. During that playoff
run the Devils scored a total of 59 goals, 19 of which (32.2%) were scored by
Kovalchuk, Parise, and Clarkson. During
the lockout shortened 2013 campaign, the Devils were 28th in the
league with only 110 goals (2.3/game), 26 of which (23.6%) were scored by
Kovalchuk and Clarkson. During the 11
games that Kovalchuk missed due to injury, the Devils only scored 19
(1.72/game) total goals. The Devils were
not a particularly good offensive team even with Kovalchuk and Clarkson. What will they do without them?
Devils GM Lou Lamoriello got to work this summer
adding pieces to the offense. On July 5th
they signed Michael Ryder and Ryan Clowe.
Ryder, at 33 years of age, is a durable right winger who has score 30 or
more goals 3 times in his career. Last
year he had 35 points (16G-19A) in 46 games with the Stars and Canadiens. Clowe is a power forward who has played a
majority of his career in San Jose. He
was dealt to the Rangers at the trade deadline and was quickly injured. Clowe has eclipsed the 20 goal mark twice in
his career, 2008-2009 and 2010-2011.
Both of these signings came alongside the loss of Clarkson. The loss of Kovalchuk on July 11th
was followed by the signing of Hall of Famer Jaromir Jagr on July 23rd. Jagr has shown, since his return to the
league in 2011, that he is still a top-six forward with a superhuman work ethic
and great leadership qualities. Jagr
also had 35 points (16G-19A) during the lockout shortened season with the Stars
and then with the Bruins.
The Devils projected top-six forwards are Elias,
Zajac, Jagr, Clowe, Henrique, and Ryder.
Is this a lineup that will strike fear into its opponents? Can this group compete in a division that
includes the likes of Crosby, Ovechkin, Giroux, Malkin, Tavares, Nash, Neal,
Backstrom, Voracek, and E. Staal? The
offense has relied heavily on Kovalchuk over the past few seasons. If the Devils are to have any sort of
offensive threat whatsoever, the new additions will have to step up while their
(relatively) young centers, Zajac and Henrique, will have to play at a high
level. The top-six does not have “that
guy” who can carry them anymoe. Therefore,
they will look for offense by committee.
SAME LOOK DEFENSE
The Devils defense core did not undergo any major
changes this summer. The team re-signed
veteran Marek Zidlicky to a one-year $4 million contract and traded Henrik
Tallinder on July 7th. The
trade of Tallinder presents an opportunity for the young Adam Larsson to begin
taking on more responsibility within the defense. The core seven of Bryce Salvador, Andy
Greene, Adam Larsson, Marek Zidlicky, Anton Volchenkov, Mark Fayne, and Peter
Harrold will return for the 2013-2014 season.
The fact that there was little change in the defense
should not be a point of concern for the Devils this season. They allowed only 122 goals (2.54/game)
ranking them 13th in the NHL.
A large portion of their games were played in front of Johan Hedberg,
who looked shaky in many of his starts and did not exactly instill confidence
in the defensemen. Overall, this is a
solid defensive unit that benefits greatly from fantastic goaltending.
THE BACKBONE
The Devils have been able to count on solid
goaltending for the past twenty years.
Future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur has spent his whole career in New
Jersey and won 3 Stanley Cups (1995, 2000, and 2003). His career record is 669-380 with a SV % of
.913 and a GAA of 2.23. Brodeur is
entering the final year of his contract.
This summer, Luo Lamoriello made sure that there is a succession plan in
place for the 41 year old goaltender. In
a shocking deal with the Vancouver Canucks on draft day, the Devils traded the
ninth overall pick for goaltender Cory Schneider.
Schneider is no ordinary back-up goalie and will
surely replace Brodeur as the Devils starter upon the latter’s retirement. In 2013 Schneider went 17-9 while starting 30
games. His career SV% is .927 and his
career GAA is 2.20. Although it has been
a small sample size, Schneider has shown potential to be a top-notch NHL
goalie. Schneider will also benefit from
the chance to learn from Brodeur and from having a more stable situation in New
Jersey. In Vancouver, Schneider’s partner
in crime, Roberto Luongo, was expected to be traded and this season lost his
starting position to Schneider. However,
as a whole, the goaltending situation in Vancouver was a mess that Schneider
will be glad to get away from.
PREDICTION
My prediction for the 2013-2014 Devils is that they
will be a fringe playoff team. They have
the best goaltending tandem in the NHL playing in a defense-first system. The team’s goals against per game will drop
from the already solid 2.54/game.
However, the offense remains a question.
In the end, hockey is a team sport and the Devils just do not have the pieces
to make a deep playoff run. They will
end up between 7th and 10th in the East. They will be 4th or 5th in the Metropolitan Division and fighting for one of the at large playoff spots. If they do make the playoffs, they will be
ousted in one long, hard fought series that their goalies will keep them in.
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