2011/2012 NHL Team Preview: New Jersey Devils
The major question surrounding the New Jersey Devils entering the 2011-12 season: which version of last year’s team was the “real” one? Was it the pitiful group that went 9-22-2 before coach John MacLean got the axe?
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Or was it the powerhouse that went 29-17-2 after Jacques Lemaire took over coaching duties?
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
Stanley Cup odds: +3000
While the Devils weren’t nearly as bad as their horrible start indicated last year, they also aren’t as good as their hot finish suggested.
Averaging 2.1 goals per game last season, the Devils were the league’s lowest-scoring team. Have they done enough to improve offensively? Getting Zach Parise back after he missed most of last season with a knee injury is a start. When healthy, he has the ability to be one of the top five all-around players in hockey.
(Hopefully) having a full season of the real Ilya Kovalchuk should help, too. In 48 games before the All-Star break last year, he had just 14 goals and 29 points and was a minus-29. In 33 games afterward, he had 17 goals, 31 points and was a plus-three. Kovalchuk may not be the league’s most likeable player but he’s a gifted talent. He’d hit the 40-goal mark seven straight years leading up to 2010-11, so I’ll mark last year’s weak overall numbers as the outlier.
But even a returning Parise and an improved Kovalchuk are just two guys. Where will New Jersey get the rest of its scoring? Travis Zajac should bounce back – but not too much. His 67 points in 2009-10 may have signalled his statistical peak; his skills aren’t extraordinary. After those two, the Devils have to relying on aging vets like Patrik Elias and Dainius Zubrus.
Unless No. 4 overall pick Adam Larsson flourishes right away, the Devils will get little to no offense from their defense corps this season. They miss the power-play quarterbacks of yesteryear: Scott Niedermayer, Brian Rafalski and even Paul Martin. [ad-4437448]
With a sterling second half last season (13-7-1, 1.84 GAA, .919 SV %), future Hall-of-Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur showed he’s far from done. But his ugly first half still reminded us that the bottom could finally fall out any time now for the 39-year-old.
Coaching is also a wildcard for New Jersey this season. Peter DeBoer, imported from the Florida Panthers, is a defensive-minded guy who should fit the Devils’ desired style nicely. However, for whatever reason, this team seems to play for Lemaire and Lemaire only. Not since, arguably, Pat Burns has a coach other than Lemaire gotten an inspired effort out of the Devils. And, in DeBoer, the Devils pursued a man the Florida Panthers of all teams deemed not good enough. Are they sure this is the coach they wanted?
The Devils shouldn’t be a laughing stock again but too many things have to go right for them to make the playoffs. Look at these scenarios: (a) Parise stays healthy; (b) Brodeur has another great year left in him; (c) Kovalchuk bounces back; (d) Larsson excels as a rookie; (e) DeBoer is a hit as a head coach. I would argue that all five need to come true for New Jersey to finish eighth or better this year. Instead, I expect the Devils to miss the big dance while remaining reasonably competitive.
Prediction: 5th, Atlantic Division
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