The Devils just keep on getting it done season after season, division title after division title. Large thanks can go to their coaching staff and their franchise Martin Brodeur. This season, you have to believe will be a bad one just going by the Devils’ past season successes. The team lost Brent Sutter, one of the best coaches in the NHL today, and lost John Madden and Brian Gionta both to free agency. This has left New Jersey to be one thin team on offense.
The air tight defenses that the Devils have displayed the past few seasons should come up huge again this season for them, that’s if a new style of coaching is put into place. With Sutter he made the team play defense as a whole, and this new coaching staff may not go that route, and will have to adjust to the players that they already have. Good thing for the Devils, they have a defense that can play no matter what new system is put into place.
Paul Martin and John Oduya have become the pair on this Devils defense, and have showed great skill. This pair will also be the Devils’ shutdown pair, matching up against the oppositions’ best line. Bryce Salvador and Colin White is another pair on this team that is huge and can punish the opposition. They aren’t all about hitting; they can also make smart plays on defense and get the puck out quickly. After these four the Devils have at least another five defensemen listed in training camp that will play for the final two spots. This season will be a test for the Devils defense, as division rivals Pittsburgh and Philadelphia have all gotten better, and are the two front runners for the division title.
Before you can count out the Devils, they go on a run that lasts the whole season, due in large part to All-Star goaltender Martin Brodeur. If the defense ever struggles Brodeur is there to bail them out, steal games, and carry the team on his back. Last season Brodeur missed two thirds of the year due to injury, but still managed to win 19 games in 31 starts. Basically, Brodeur is a lock to win at least forty games, sport a GAA below 2.30, and have a save percentage of .915. With Brodeur in net, and healthy, the Devils will be in the division title race, and should make the playoffs.
On offense New Jersey is looking real weak and that gets said every single season, and it’s true, but they manage to win a lot of low scoring one goal games. Leading the way on offense is Zach Parise, Patrick Elias, and Jamie Langenbrunner. All three of these players finished in the top three in team scoring last season. The true offensive guy on this team is Zach Parise who had a career year last season with 45 goals, 49 assists and was a +30. Not to mention, he played in all 82 games, so he is a very durable skater. Another ninety point season will happen for Parise, as he will be playing with Patrick Elias. And Elias finished second on the team with 78 points, and should be a lock for eighty points. Langenbrunner just keeps on impressing year after year with his scoring ability, and was one goal shy of thirty for the year. If Langenbrunner can produce 25 goals, and Parise and Elias play to their own high levels, the Devils will have an explosive top line, which will be hard to match. These three can also carry the team with their scoring prowess.
The thing with the Devils is they have veteran players that are smart with the puck and can still score. The Devils continue to finish in the lower half of league scoring. Brian Rolston, Jay Pandolfo and Brendan Shanahan are good players to have on your team. The scoring numbers may dip a little for all three of these players. Rolston scored just 15 goals, compared to a few season back when he was putting up 25 goal seasons with ease. Rolston can still play smart hockey and fits in perfectly with this team. Pandolfo has been a Devil for life and was never considered a goal scorer; he was more of a third defenseman when on the ice. Last season he only scored ten points, so don’t look to him for much offense. Shanahan at the age of 40 still believes he can score, and probably can. In two seasons with the Rangers, he scored more than 22 goals a year. Last season he was a late signing in the middle of the year and got into 34 games for six goals. If given a full year and training camp, like he is doing now, he should score at least twenty goals.
The Devils have a few players on the rise in Travis Zajac and David Clarkson. For Zajac last season was his breakout year with 20 goals and 62 points. He should be able to duplicate those numbers this season, but it may be tough as he lost his line mate Brian Gionta. Clarkson had a good solid year scoring 17 times, and his goal totals have risen the past three seasons, and should score twenty this season.
OVERALL--> THE DEVILS HAVE A GOOD TEAM, EXCELLENT GOALTENDING, AN OKAY DEFENSE AND A GOOD OFFENSE. ON DEFENSE AND OFFENSE, THE DEVILS HAVE A GOOD TOP HALF AND A BAD BOTTOM HALF.
POSITIVE--> THE SCORING ABILITY OF THE DEVILS’ TOP LINE IN ZACH PARISE, PATRICK ELIAS AND JAMIE LANGENBRUNNER. THE RISING STARS OF TRAVIS ZAJAC AND DAVID CLARKSON. GOALTENDER MARTIN BRODEUR IS AMAZING IN NET.
NEGATIVE--> THE OFFENSE HAS A HUGE DROP OFF AFTER THE TOP TWO LINES, DUE TO VETERAN PLAYERS THAT CAN PLAY BUT CAN’T SCORE LIKE THEY USED TO, AND SOME OF THE YOUTH BEING BROUGHT IN. BACK-UP GOALTENDING IS WEAK RIGHT NOW WITH YANN DANIS.
X-FACTOR--> THIS IS MARTIN BRODEUR’S TEAM, AND IF HE CAN WIN 42 GAMES THEN THE DEVILS WILL MAKE THE PLAYOFFS.
SLEEPER PICK--> BRENDAN SHANAHAN IS A GREAT PLAYER AND A PURE GOAL SCORER, AND WILL SCORE 20 GOALS AT THE AGE OF FORTY.
PREDICTION--> THE NEW JERSEY DEVILS WILL MAKE THE PLAYOFFS GAINING ONE OF SEEDS 4-6.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
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