New Jersey Devils 2022-23 Season Preview

The New Jersey Devils missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year. The team made some significant upgrades this year and the start of the 2022-23 season is one day away.

The New Jersey Devils have made several new additions to their team. Many point projections view the team favorably heading into 2022-23. The Devils finished on the Eastern Conference playoff bubble in the 2021-22 season. They are expected to finish on a 92-point season this time around.

The New Jersey Devils have a good core up front with Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt and Palát. General manager Tom Fitzgerald signed Palat to a five-year contract worth $6 million per year. He also acquired Haula in the trade that sent Pavel Zacha to the Boston Bruins. The team also has Yegor Sharangovich and Dawson Mercer. Alexander Holtz could be the team's X-factor.   The Devils finished 11th in five on five goals last season. They finished the season 11st in 5-on-5 goals.

Palát and Holtz will improve the Devils' scoring depth. Tomáš Tatar had a strong preseason and could play on the second or third line. Fabian Zetterlund impressed in his 14-game NHL stint last season. Miles Wood should be back to full fitness after hip surgery. New Jersey Devils have improved their forwards since they've improved the depth in the forwards. New Devils are looking forward to the 2022-23 season and the next few years.

Dougie Hamilton is back from injury and should be a top-pair defender for the New Jersey Devils. Ryan Graves and Damon Severson should improve the Devils' defensive depth. Jonas Siegenthaler and Marino will play together for a significant part of 2022-23 season. Kevin Bahl and Brendan Smith will be the third- and fourth-line defensemen. Brendan Bahls played well in the preseason. He should start the season as the No. 7 defenseman. Brendan is a veteran third pairing defender with plenty of experience. The team may have to rotate the defensive pairs throughout the year.

The New Jersey Devils need to improve their goalkeeping to be competitive in the Metropolitan Division. Last season, they used seven different goalkeepers and finished with a team save percentage (SV%) of .881. Mackenzie Blackwood had a solid preseason and is expected to play well in games. Jonathan Bernier is injured and unavailable to start the season. Vitek Vanecek was acquired from the Washington Capitals at the NHL Draft in July. He will play in goal for the Devils. He has a career .908 SV% over the last two seasons and a .850 high-danger SV%.

The New Jersey Devils have a good amount of depth in their AHL affiliate, the Comets. Šimon Nemec is with the Devils at the moment, but he should play a prominent role for the AHL team. Graeme Clarke had an excellent preseason and could be the first call-up if a winger goes down with an injury. Akira Schmid and Nico Daws are entering their second pro seasons. They played in the NHL last season, and in AHL they both had good seasons, with Schmi and Dawks finishing with a .911 SV% in 38 games.

The New Jersey Devils' power play had problems last season. Assistant coach Mark Recchi was replaced with Andrew Brunette. The Devils generated more shot attempts per 60 minutes during the preseason than in 2021-22. However, they still lacked quality, averaging 4.18 expected goals per minute. Turnovers and shorthanded chances are still a problem.

Devils penalty kill performed well during the preseason. Ryan McGill took over the Devils' penalty killing after Alain Nasreddine left the team. The Devils had a solid penalty killer last season, but they still have issues with their power play.

The New Jersey Devils are good enough to be competitive in the Metropolitan Division. They are going to finish with around 90 points. The cutoff in Eastern Conference was 100 points a season ago. If the cutoff falls back into the mid-90s, the Devils should be within striking distance in March and April. Until proven otherwise, they probably finish on the outside looking in.

New Jersey Devils have their home opener on October 15 against the Detroit Red Wings at 7 PM.